As a deity name
Name 250 of the Lakshmi Sahasranāma — Skanda Purana / Sanat Kumara Samhita, as taught by Sages Sanatkumara and Devotees
As a Hindi name
कन्यका · noun · feminine
क्वारी लड़की । अनब्याही लड़की · पुत्री । बेटी — Śabdasāgara
कन्यका · kanyakā · s.f.
A girl, maiden ( = kanyā) — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 857
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
a girl, maiden, virgin, daughter, &c.
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (3)Why this matches what you typed
M1 · same meaning "kanyakā" is the feminine form of "kanyaka" — the same word with the feminine ending (nominative).
M3 · meaning shifts "kanyaka" is derived from "kanya" with the ka/kan suffix — a related word whose meaning shifts, so both meanings are shown.
kanya mf(ā)n. the smallest (opposed to uttama and madhyama), Hcat. i, 302, 8 ff.
kanya [cf. Zd. kainin; Hib. cain, ‘chaste, undefiled’.]
kanyaka mfn. the smallest, Hcat. i, 302, 16
Related forms
Dictionary citations
kanyakā f. a girl, maiden, virgin, daughter, MBh.; Śak.; Yājñ. &c.
the constellation Virgo in the zodiac, VarBṛS.
N. of Durgā, BhP. x, 2, 12
Aloe Indica, L.
kanyakā 1 A girl; saṃbaddhavaikhānasakanyakāni R. 14. 28; 11. 53. 2 An unmarried girl, virgin, maiden; gṛhe gṛhe puruṣāḥ kulakanyakāḥ samudvahaṃti Māl. 7; Y. 1. 105. 3 A technical name for a girl ten years old; ( aṣṭavarṣā bhavedgaurī navavarṣā ca rohiṇī . daśame kanyakā proktā ata urdhvaṃ rajasvalā Śabdak.) 4 (In Rhet.) One of the several kinds of heroines; an unmarried girl serving as a chief character in a poetical composition; see under anyastrī. 5 The sign Virgo. Comp. — chalaḥ seduction: paiśācaḥ kanyakācchalāt Y. 1. 61. — janaḥ a maiden; viśuddhamugdhaḥ kulakanyakājanaḥ Māl. 7. 1. — jātaḥ the son of an unmarried girl; Y. 2. 129 (= kānīna); for instance vyāsa, karṇa &c.
kanyaka mfn. the smallest, Hcat. i, 302, 16
kanya mf(ā)n. the smallest (opposed to uttama and madhyama), Hcat. i, 302, 8 ff.
kanya [cf. Zd. kainin; Hib. cain, ‘chaste, undefiled’.]
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
Sources contain errors and engines have limits; every claim above carries its citation so you can verify it. This is guidance about names and their sources — not religious or astrological consultation. How we work · Our sources