Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A female child.
- noun A daughter.
- noun Often Offensive A woman.
- noun A woman socializing with a group of women.
- noun Used as a familiar form of address to express support of or camaraderie with a woman.
- noun Informal A female sweetheart.
- noun Offensive A female servant or employee.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A young person of either sex; a child.
- noun A female child; any young person of the female sex; a young unmarried woman.
- noun In the language of the chase, a roebuck of two years old.
- noun A maid-servant.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete A young person of either sex; a child.
- noun A female child, from birth to the age of puberty; a young maiden.
- noun United States A female servant; a maidservant.
- noun (Zoöl.), Prov. Eng. A roebuck two years old.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
young female human ; (in contrast toboy ), a femalechild oryoung adult . - noun Any
woman , regardless of her age. See usage notes. - noun A female
servant ; amaid . See usage notes. - noun figuratively, pejorative A boy with girl-like qualities, especially
squeamishness . - noun colloquial A term of endearment. See usage notes.
- noun A
girlfriend . - noun A
daughter . - noun UK, dialect, obsolete A
roebuck two years old.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a young woman
- noun a female human offspring
- noun a friendly informal reference to a grown woman
- noun a youthful female person
- noun a girl or young woman with whom a man is romantically involved
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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"the Indiana girl," from the name of her pa's hotel, though it must be confessed that the sweet name of _girl_ seems sadly incongruous when applied to such a gigantic piece of humanity.
The Shirley Letters from California Mines in 1851-52 Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe
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She's not only the prettiest girl I've seen for many a year, but she's _the girl_. "
The Shield of Silence George [Illustrator] Loughridge
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I want to say I'm the new "girl," but unless you are in the South where the term girl is used as commonly as "you" in some places, I think I'm past qualifying...
Archive 2009-02-01 Casey 2009
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I want to say I'm the new "girl," but unless you are in the South where the term girl is used as commonly as "you" in some places, I think I'm past qualifying...
New wicked one... Lori Devoti 2009
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"I think some people don't understand the word 'girl crush,'" she said.
Writers With Crushes Making Waves Mike Vilensky 2011
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The main girl is a cutter who starts hanging out with a Goth girl and going to Goth clubs.
slayground: Booklist: Monster Mash Little Willow 2006
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As a Brit in France who has just aquired a French Lady Friend, we are too old for the term girl friend!
what not to eat 2005
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Remember, Every virgin girl is saving herself for YOU.
And for the guys… 2002
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I did not mean to offend you by using the term girl; I was going to assure you that we had no need of the decanter.
Roughing It in the Bush Susanna Moodie 1844
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The word boy when used for an African American man is a fighting word, as is the word girl when applied to women.
Forbes.com: News Victoria Pynchon 2011
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The VSCO girl, named after VSCO, an Instagram-like app for photo editing and sharing, wears oversize name-brand shirts, wrist scrunchies, and puka shell necklaces, shows her concern for the environment by carrying around a metal straw and Hydro Flask water bottle, and likes to say “sksksksk” (aka the letters that indicate a keyboard smash) out loud, among other highly specific characteristics.
“You Can Never See Their Pants for Some Reason” Heather Schwedel 2023
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The days when the girlboss was hailed a feminist icon are over and now Gen Z are ushering in the era of the "snail girl" — a trend that sees women prioritize a slower life of happiness and self-care over hustle culture and overwork.
Say goodbye to the girlboss: The 'snail girl era' is here, encouraging young women to live a slower, more relaxed lifestyle Sawdah Bhaimiya 2023
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The days when the girlboss was hailed a feminist icon are over and now Gen Z are ushering in the era of the "snail girl" — a trend that sees women prioritize a slower life of happiness and self-care over hustle culture and overwork.
Say goodbye to the girlboss: The 'snail girl era' is here, encouraging young women to live a slower, more relaxed lifestyle Sawdah Bhaimiya 2023
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Email X (Twitter) Facebook319 LinkedIn WhatsApp Messenger Print On TikTok and Instagram, people are “girl mossing”: lying on a forest floor, staring up at a leafy canopy or caressing moss.
‘We cannot simply go, go, go.’ What is girl mossing, the wellness trend that rejects hustle culture? Anna Halafoff 2024
oroboros commented on the word girl
Long lashes lifting,
Lips curving, blue eyes dancing,
Ah! Enchanting smile.
May 4, 2008