dalaga means A young woman who has passed puberty but is not yet married; an eligible young woman. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why “dalaga” is a great word
DALAGA — [Noun] A young woman who has passed puberty but is not yet married; an eligible maiden. From Tagalog dalaga ("maiden; virgin; unmarried girl"). Unlike binibini, a formal title of address, or matandang dalaga, a term for a spinster, dalaga captures the potent liminality of a woman in her prime of eligibility. It is the starch-stiffened rustle of a terno at a fiesta, the scent of sampaguita braided into dark hair, and the suspended quiet of a girl waiting by a window—a luminous, temporary kingdom defined by the fragile anticipation of its own conclusion.
Etymology
From Tagalog dalaga (“maiden; virgin; unmarried girl”).
noun
- A young woman who has passed puberty but is not yet married; an eligible young woman.