Chaste, a.
Etymology: [F. chaste, from L. castus pure, chaste; cf. Gr. to purify.]
1. Pure from unlawful sexual intercourse; virtuous; continent. "As chaste as Diana." Shak. Whose bed is undefiled and chaste pronounced. Milton.
2. Pure in thought and act; innocent; free from lewdness and obscenity, or indecency in act or speech; modest; as, a chaste mind; chaste eyes.
3. Pure in design and expression; correct; free from barbarisms or vulgarisms; refined; simple; as, a chaste style in composition or art. That great model of chaste, lofty, and eloquence, the Book of Common Prayer. Macaulay.
4. Unmarried. [Obs.] Chaucer.
1 more senses
Syn. -- Undefiled; pure; virtuous; continent; immaculate; spotless. Chaste tree. Same as Agnus castus.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for chaste; he lists it under pure, tasteful.
Where he writes about it:
Chaste (primarily pure), denotes in literature and art that which is true to the higher and finer feelings and free from all excess or meretricious ornament. — from tasteful