That virtue which prevents the unlawful commerce of the sexes. 2. A woman may defend her chastity by killing her assailant. See Self-defence. And even the solicitation of her chastity is indictable in some of the states; Words charging a woman with a violation of chastity are actionable in themselves.
Law Dictionary – Alternative Legal Definition
Purity; continence. That virtue which prevents the unlawful intercourse of the sexes. Also the state of purity or abstinence from unlawful sexual connection. People v. Brown, 71 Hun, 601, 24 N. Y. Supp. 1111; People v. Kehoe, 123 Cal. 224, 55 Pac. 911, 69 Am. St Rep. 52; State v. Carron, 18 Iowa, 375, 8T Am. Dec. 401. Chaste character. This term, as used in statutes, means actual personal virtue, and not reputation or good name. It may include the character of one who was formerly unchaste but is reformed.