From Latin virgō (“maiden, virgin; name of constellation”), calque of Ancient Greek παρθένος (parthénos, “virgin; name of constellation”), ultimately derived through mythic reinterpretation from ancient Mesopotamian constellations, as Akkadian absinnu (“seed furrow; name of constellation”) and Sumerian 𒀯𒀳 (ᵐᵘˡABSIN₃, “seed furrow; constellation representing fertility/harvest goddess Shala with ear of corn”). Doublet of virgin.
nl Maagd (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · et neitsi (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · fr Vierge (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · ca virgo (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · ca verge (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · mk девица (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · ro fecioară (zodie) (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · ru де́ва (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · da jomfru (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · bg де́ва (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · uk ді́ва (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · pt virginiano (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · sv jungfru (Someone with a Virgo star sign) · no jomfru (Someone with a Virgo star sign)
From Latin virgō (“maiden, virgin; name of constellation”), calque of Ancient Greek παρθένος (parthénos, “virgin; name of constellation”), ultimately derived through mythic reinterpretation from ancient Mesopotamian constellations, as Akkadian absinnu (“seed furrow; name of constellation”) and Sumerian 𒀯𒀳 (ᵐᵘˡABSIN₃, “seed furrow; constellation representing fertility/harvest goddess Shala with ear of corn”). Doublet of virgin.
Meanings
A constellation in the zodiac, traditionally figured in the shape of a maiden holding an ear of wheat (represented by the bright binary star Spica).
The constellation Virgo is a Y-shaped group, of which α, the star at the foot, is the well-known Spica, a star of the first magnitude. [...] The whole resembles more a cup than the human figure; but when we remember the symbolic meaning of the cup, that seems to be an obvious explanation of the name Virgo, which the constellation has borne since the earliest times. 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 30:
Virgo is represented as a woman with a branch in her right hand, and some ears of corn in her left hand. 1893, E. W. Bullinger, Witness of the Stars, London: The author, page 29:
Now, masters, draw. [They shoot.] O, well said, Lucius! Good boy, in Virgo’s lap. c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
The zodiac sign for the virgin, ruled by Mercury, that covers August 23 – September 23 (tropical astrology) or September 16 – October 15 (sidereal astrology).
A large-scale gravitational wave detector located in Pisa, Italy.
In February 2016, scientists announced that the first direct observation of gravitational waves had been made using just the two LIGO detectors. That was followed by a second announcement in June 2016. Because Virgo was undergoing an extensive upgrade, it was not operating during these first observations. 2017 October 1, Don Lincoln, “Nobel Prize-winning detectors revealed a cosmic cataclysm”, in CNN: