filly

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a young female horse, especially one below the age at which it is called a mare

   The chestnut filly stayed close to her mother in the pasture.

2. 2
   noun

   dated and often offensive: a young woman, especially when spoken of as attractive

   The novel's narrator repeatedly calls young women fillies, a usage now considered demeaning.

From Old Norse fylja, 'young female horse,' related to foal. The later slang use for a young woman transfers an animal term to a person and is now generally dated and objectifying.

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