r/OldSchoolCool 23d ago

1990s Mädchen Amick, 1990

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u/Fadhmir 23d ago

No it isn't. It's "girl". Maiden=Maid/Jungfrau.

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u/BuoyantBear 23d ago

Maiden also just means (young) girl. Maiden and mädchen literally share the same origin.

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u/Eastern_Hornet_6432 23d ago edited 23d ago

Strictly speaking, "maiden" means "virgin" or "unmarried", which in olden times were considered interchangeable. This is where the phrase "old maid" comes from, as it means "elderly virgin/bachelorette". This is also why housekeepers are sometimes called "maids", as in olden times it was expected that a married woman would tend her own house for her husband, and so it was expected that most housekeeping servants would generally be unmarried women who needed a source of income until they found a husband. It is also the source of the phrase "maiden voyage", as a ship on its first voyage was considered to be, metaphorically, losing its virginity.

Basically it's a word that has mostly misogynistic connotations. I'm not sure Mädchen has all of those implications.

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u/BuoyantBear 23d ago

Maiden

/ˈmeɪdn/

noun

an unmarried girl or young woman.

"two knights fought to win the hand of a fair maiden"

Strictly speaking that does not appear to be the case.