maiden / maid
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maiden
An old-fashioned or poetic term for a young, unmarried girl or young woman.
In alten Märchen rettet der Ritter oft eine holde Maid aus dem Turm.
In old fairy tales, the knight often rescues a fair maiden from the tower.
This word is old-fashioned and poetic. It is not used in modern everyday language. You find it almost only in fairy tales, poems, historical novels, or songs.
Der Dichter schrieb ein Gedicht über eine wunderschöne Maid am See.
The poet wrote a poem about a beautiful maiden by the lake.
The context reveals the exact meaning. In stories about knights and princesses (m01), it refers to a young girl. In descriptions of historical households (m02), it refers to a servant.
Der Prinz verliebte sich in die junge Maid.
The prince fell in love with the young maiden.
In the meaning 'junge Frau' (young woman), the combination 'holde Maid' (fair maiden) is a very well-known fixed expression. 'Hold' is also an old-fashioned word meaning 'schön' (beautiful) or 'anmutig' (graceful).
Im Märchen wird die holde Maid vom Drachen gefangen gehalten.
In the fairy tale, the fair maiden is held captive by the dragon.
girl
'das Mädchen' and 'die Maid' can both refer to a young female person. 'das Mädchen' is the normal word for a female child or adolescent and fits almost always in everyday language. 'die Maid' sounds old-fashioned, poetic, or like something from a fairy tale today. Learners might confuse the words because both have to do with young women or girls. In normal conversations, however, people say 'Mädchen'. 'Maid' is used at most in old texts, songs, or deliberately poetic language.
In dem alten Gedicht steht eine junge Maid am Fenster und singt.
In the old poem, a young maiden stands at the window and sings.
Das Mädchen wartet nach der Schule vor dem Tor auf seine Mutter.
After school, the girl waits for her mother in front of the gate.