maiden voyage
10
4.9
- noun
- /ˈmeɪdən ˈvɔɪɪdʒ/
:
viaje inaugural
- It was the ship's maiden voyage to test the drive.
Examples
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We can take her out for a maiden voyage Saturday.
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On behalf of myself, Captain Atherton and his crew, welcome to the maiden voyage of the Argonautica!
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Probably it's time for the maiden voyage of the S S.
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This is going to be the maiden voyage here guys so let us play.
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After all, it is her maiden voyage.
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So the Enterprise has had its maiden voyage, has it?
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The Stephen R. Mallory was on its maiden voyage as a cattle boat, and after two days at sea, it developed engine trouble.
Academic text (1999) -
The Titanic, which sank on her maiden voyage April 14, 1912, has been found over two miles down at the bottom of the Atlantic.
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Yet, on her ill-fated maiden voyage, the Titanic hit an iceberg and plunged deep into the icy North Atlantic on April 15, 1912.
Academic text (2013) -
Thousands gather to witness the maiden voyage of America's technological marvel, the Southland's newest wonder, the Treer MegaZeppelin.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the first journey' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'maiden' (first/inaugural) with 'voyage' (journey). This adjective+noun composition follows a standard, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The noun maiden voyage comes from the old word maiden, which meant a young woman and was used to say 'the first', and voyage means a trip. The image is a brand-new ship making its very first trip, so maiden voyage now means the first journey of a new ship, plane, or vehicle.