All 3 Uses of
chaste
in
The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Well, I will find you twenty lascivious turtles ere one chaste man.†
Scene 2.1 *chaste = not having sexual intercourse (ever, outside of marriage, or for a long time); or not involving sexual desire
- With trial-fire touch me his finger-end: If he be chaste, the flame will back descend And turn him to no pain; but if he start, It is the flesh of a corrupted heart.†
Scene 5.5
- Lust is but a bloody fire, Kindled with unchaste desire, Fed in heart, whose flames aspire, As thoughts do blow them, higher and higher.†
Scene 5.5unchaste = sexually experienced or active; or involving sexual desirestandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unchaste means not and reverses the meaning of chaste. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
Definitions:
-
(1)
(chaste as in: remained chaste) not having sex; or not involving sexual desireThe exact meaning of not having sex depends upon context. It can mean
- to be a virgin (never have sex)
- to be sexually inactive currently or for a long time
- to not have sex outside of marriage
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Much less commonly, chaste can refer to an unornamented simple style.