girl

== English == === Alternative forms === gal (colloquial) gel (British, slang) girle, gyrle (obsolete) gorl (Internet slang) gril (Internet slang) grrrl, grrl (slang) guhrl, gurl (nonstandard) gworl (slang) gyal (MLE, MTE) === Etymology === 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. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɡɜːl/, (obsolete) /ˈɡɛəl/, /ˈɡɪəl/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɡɜɹl/, [ˈɡɝəɫ] (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈɡɵːl/, [ˈɡʏw] (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈɡɪɾəl/, [ˈɡɪɾəɫ] (Canada) IPA(key): /ɡɜɹl/, [ɡɚ(ɹ)ɫ] (Ottawa Valley) IPA(key): [ɡəɹ(ə)l] (Dublin) IPA(key): /ɡɛɹl/ Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)l Homophone: Guirl === Noun === girl (countable and uncountable, plural girls) A female child. I saw a little girl feeding, brushing, and talking to a heifer. (sometimes offensive, see usage note) A woman, especially a young and often attractive woman. He has a crush on a girl at work. We were kidding with him yesterday about his work crush. (colloquial) A term of address to a female (see usage notes) Synonyms: girlie, lass, lassie Hey, girl, I haven't seen you since last week! Where you been? (colloquial) One's girlfriend. He lucked out with that girl of his. Smart, sweet, sassy, and pretty too. One's daughter. (especially with a possessive) A female friend. A female non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a female pet, especially a dog. (somewhat childish, as a modifier) A female (tree, gene, etc). Are you getting a boy cat or a girl cat? 1970 [earlier 1963], Helen V. Wilson, Helen Van Pelt, Helen Van Pelt's African Violets, Dutton Adult (→ISBN): Of the 100 percent total, 25 will have two girl genes, 50 will have one boy and one girl gene, and 25 will have two boy genes. (informal) A machine or vehicle, especially one that the speaker uses often and is fond of. A female servant; a maid. (see usage notes) Synonyms: char, charlady, charwoman, maid, maiden, maidservant, womanservant (US, slang, uncountable) Cocaine, especially in powder form. He's the sort of lowlife who snorts coke and refers to it as his girl. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cocaine For more quotations using this term, see Citations:girl. (card games, slang, uncommon) A queen (the playing card). Are your sure you want to discard that old girl? (UK, dialect, obsolete) A roebuck two years old. (obsolete) A child of any gender. ==== Usage notes ==== (any woman, regardless of her age): An adult calling an unfamiliar grown woman a "girl" may be considered either a compliment or an insult, depending on context and sensibilities. Even if the word "girl" in most cases is not meant to be derogatory, it may still be patronising sometimes, especially when used to address someone older than oneself. In some cases, the term is used as a euphemism for virgin, to distinguish a female who has never engaged in sexual intercourse (a "girl") from one who has done so (and is a woman). (For example, She left a girl and came back a woman.) (term of endearment): When used as a term of endearment, it can be used for someone female or, in some contexts, for someone male, such as the use within the gay community. ==== Coordinate terms ==== boy woman ==== Derived terms ==== See also: English terms starting with “girl” ==== Descendants ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === girl (third-person singular simple present girls, present participle girling, simple past and past participle girled) (transitive) To feminize or girlify; to gender as a girl or as for girls. (somewhat informal) To staff with or as a girl or girls. === See also === miss === References === === Anagrams === LIRG, gril == French == === Etymology === From English girl. Doublet of gow. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɡœʁl/ === Noun === girl f (plural girls) dancing girl === Further reading === “girl”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Scots == === Etymology === Metathesis of grill (“shudder (with horror, dread, etc), shiver (as on hearing a grating sound”), from Old Scots gril, from Middle English grillen (“shudder, quake, be afraid; enrage”), from Old English griellan, grillan (“offend, annoy; gnash one's teeth at”). === Verb === girl to shiver or shudder For quotations using this term, see Citations:girl. to tingle unpleasantly, when hearing a grating noise or biting into an acidic or unripe fruit For quotations using this term, see Citations:girl.