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girl
[ gurl ]
noun
- a female child, from birth to full growth.
- a young, immature woman, especially formerly, an unmarried one.
- a daughter:
My wife and I have two girls.
- Informal: Sometimes Offensive. a grown woman, especially when referred to familiarly:
She's having the girls over for bridge next week.
- a girlfriend; sweetheart.
- Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female servant, as a maid.
- Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female employee, especially an office assistant.
- a female who is from or native to a given place:
She's a Missouri girl.
- girls, (used with a singular or plural verb)
- a range of sizes from 7 to 14, for garments made for girls.
- a garment in this size range.
- the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.
- girls, Slang. one's breasts (usually preceded by the, my, etc., and primarily used self-referentially by women).
girl
/ ɡɜːl /
noun
- a female child from birth to young womanhood
- a young unmarried woman; lass; maid
- informal.a sweetheart or girlfriend
- informal.a woman of any age
- See daughteran informal word for daughter
- a female employee, esp a female servant
- derogatory.a Black female servant of any age
- the girls informal.the girls usually plural a group of women, esp acquaintances
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Sensitive Note
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Usage
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Word History and Origins
Origin of girl1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of girl1
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Example Sentences
Another cheer parent, April Grant, told VOSD she also found the reasoning they cut Ingalls’ daughter suspect, because several other girls caught vaping in recent years made the team.
If you find a girl who is interested in calculus, you don’t squash that.
She’s the girl next door that millennials grew up with, from her debut on Saved by the Bell and as a cheerleader on Bring It On.
Data from the CRISPR’d baby girls, for example, showed that the experiment littered their genomes with off-target edits at the embryo stage.
The good news is that the Malala Fund and its partners are working to mitigate some of the current challenges to girls’ learning.
The brother of a girl who made her debut in New Orleans society was shaking his fists in excitement.
But, but … there was a token black girl in the background, Target cried in its defense!
Once upon a time, a girl named Onika Maraj dreamed of being an actress.
But religious tolerance would be a wholesome goodie for every boy and girl.
They made quiet plans together, saying that when they had a child together, they wanted a girl called Grace.
Was he really condemned to an eternal solitude because of the girl who had died so many years ago?
The two little Pontelliers were with him, and he carried Madame Ratignolle's little girl in his arms.
"I hope you don't think I speak always to strangers, like that," said the girl in the rose hat.
The young man smiled at the girl, as he crushed up the notes and stuffed them into his pocket.
Sometimes it was a young girl, again a widow; but as often as not it was some interesting married woman.
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Related Words
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More About Girl
Where does the word girl come from?
The word girl, meaning “a female child,” originally meant any “child” or “young person,” regardless of gender. Girl, for “child,” is recorded around 1250–1300.
However, the original source of the word is uncertain. Scholars point to Old English words like gyrela, “an item of dress, apparel,” presumably of a type worn by and popular with a young person back then.
Guess what other word has obscure roots? Boy. Discover why in our slideshow “‘Dog,’ ‘Boy,’ And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came From.”
Did you know … ?
While it is usually used to mean “female child,” the word girl is also sometimes used in reference to young adult or adult women, such as in girl bands or a girlfriend. Parents also use the word girls for their daughters of any age.
While it is often used in a similar manner to its male counterpart boy, the word girl can have sexist implications that boy does not—although boy has its own racist past. For example, the idea of “a boy acting like a girl” is often used as a sexist or even anti-gay insult that doesn’t have an exact equivalent in “a girl acting like a boy.” The word tomboy, in fact, can often carry a positive connotation.
Similarly, referring to adult women as girls can have demeaning or sexist implications that aren’t always as prevalent when using boy to refer to an adult man (e.g., “Boys will be boys”).
That said, please note that referring to a Black adult man or other male members of minority groups as boy is racist.
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