frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

maid n. 1 girl, maiden, lass, miss, nymphet, nymph, wench, damsel,
mademoiselle, demoiselle, Scots lassie; virgin, virgo intacta:
A lovely young maid was milking the cow. 2 housemaid,
maidservant, domestic, chambermaid, lady's maid, Archaic or
literary abigail, Brit daily, Archaic colloq Brit tweeny: When
she rang, the maid brought in the tea. 3 old maid. spinster,
bachelor girl: She never married and now is an old maid.
maiden n. 1 See maid, 1, above.
--adj. 2 virgin, virginal, undefiled, intact, chaste, (virgo)
intacta; unmarried, unwed: His maiden aunt was visiting for the
weekend. 3 inaugural, first, initial, Colloq US shakedown: The
Titanic sank on her maiden voyage.
mail n. 1 post, correspondence; letters: Has the mail arrived?
--v. 2 post, send, dispatch or despatch: Please mail this
letter tonight.
maim v. cripple, mutilate, lame, disable, incapacitate, wound, wing,
impair, hamstring, put out of action or commission; injure,
harm, damage: Their daughter was badly maimed in the fire.
main adj. 1 chief, primary, prime, (most) important, principal,
cardinal, paramount, first, foremost, leading, pre-eminent,
predominant, predominating, dominant, ranking, major;
outstanding: The main cause of traffic deaths is drunken
driving. In Britain, the main street of a town is called 'the
High Street'. We arrived late and missed the main entertainment.
2 largest, biggest, greatest, strongest: The main part of the
strike force landed in Normandy. 3 necessary, essential, basic,
particular, fundamental, critical, crucial, vital: Economic
recovery is the main thrust of our programme for reform. 4
sheer, brute, utter, pure, out-and-out, absolute, mere, plain:
He lifted that block by main force!
--n. 5 pipe, duct, channel, line, pipeline, water or gas main,
Brit (electric) cable, mains, power (supply), conduit: Water
reaches the city through a huge underground main. 6 strength,
power, might, effort, energy, vigour: With all his might and
main he tried to move the stone blocking the cave. 7 in the
main. See mainly, below.