All 5 Uses of
chaste
in
Othello, the Moor of Venice
- Thus credulous fools are caught; And many worthy and chaste dames even thus, All guiltless, meet reproach.†
Scene 4.1 *chaste = not having sexual intercourse (ever, outside of marriage, or for a long time); or not involving sexual desire
- O, 'tis the spite of hell, the fiend's arch-mock, To lip a wanton in a secure couch, And to suppose her chaste!†
Scene 4.1
- For if she be not honest, chaste, and true, There's no man happy; the purest of their wives Is foul as slander.†
Scene 4.2
- It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul,— Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars!†
Scene 5.2
- Moor, she was chaste; she lov'd thee, cruel Moor; So come my soul to bliss, as I speak true; So speaking as I think, I die,—I die.†
Scene 5.2
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.