girl

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A female child.

   The little girl was playing in the garden.

2. 2
   noun

   A young woman.

   A group of girls was waiting outside the cinema.

3. 3
   noun

   A woman that someone is romantically involved with; a girlfriend (informal).

   He's bringing his girl to the party tonight.

4. 4
   noun

   A friendly way to address a woman or female friend (informal).

   Hey, girl, I haven't seen you in ages!

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Girl appeared in Middle English, but its origin is uncertain. It could once refer to a child or young person of either sex, before that use began to be replaced by a specifically female sense in late Middle English.

From Middle English gerle, girle, gyrle (“young person (boy or girl)”), perhaps from Old English *gyrele, from Proto-West Germanic *gurilā, from a zero-grade diminutive of *gaurā (“young child”) + *-ilā. Ultimately of unknown origin. Doublet of gal/gyal and gyaru. Cognates Cognate with Yola gurl (“child, girl”), German Gör, Göre (“brat, cheeky young child”), Low German Gör (“child”).

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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