vir·gin·al / ˈvərjənl/ • adj. being, relating to, or appropriate for a virgin: virginal shyness.• n. (usu. virginals) an early spinet with the strings parallel to the keyboard, typically rectangular, and popular in 16th and 17th century houses.DERIVATIVES: vir·gin·al·ist / -jənl-ist/ n.vir·gin·al·ly adv.

virginal Musical instrument of the harpsichord family. The strings, a single set running nearly parallel to the keyboard, are plucked by quills. Two keyboards, differing in size and pitch, were sometimes incorporated into the same case. Virginals were particularly popular in 16th- and 17th-century England.