girl

English Online Dictionary. What means girl‎? What does girl mean?

English

Alternative forms

• gal (colloquial)
• gel (British, slang)
• girle, gyrle (obsolete)
• gorl (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]
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /ɡɜːʳl/, (non-rhotic) /ɡarl/
  • (South India, dialectal) IPA^(key): [ɡɜːɭ]
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ɡɜɹl/, [ɡɚ(ɹ)ɫ]
  • (Ottawa Valley) IPA^(key): [ɡəɹ(ə)l]
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)l
• Homophone: Guirl

Noun

girl (countable and uncountable, plural girls)

1. A young female human, or sometimes a young female animal.

2. (sometimes offensive, see usage note) A woman, especially a young and often attractive woman.

3. (colloquial) A term of address to a female (see usage notes)

   Synonyms: girlie, lass, lassie
4. One's girlfriend.
5. One's daughter.

6. A female non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a female pet, especially a dog.
7. (somewhat childish) (as a modifier) A female (tree, gene, etc).
   • 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.
8. (informal) A machine or vehicle, especially one that the speaker uses often and is fond of.
9. A female servant; a maid. (see usage notes)

   Synonyms: char, charlady, charwoman, maid, maiden, maidservant, womanservant

10. (US, slang, uncountable) Cocaine, especially in powder form.

    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cocaine

    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:girl.
11. (card games, slang, uncommon) A queen (the playing card).

12. (UK, dialect, obsolete) A roebuck two years old.
13. (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. Context matters, and speaking thoughtfully helps one's own interests as well as others'.
• 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.

Derived terms

English terms starting with “girl”

Descendants

Translations

References

Verb

girl (third-person singular simple present girls, present participle girling, simple past and past participle girled)

1. (transitive) To feminize or girlify; to gender as a girl or as for girls.
2. (somewhat informal) To staff with or as a girl or girls.

See also

• miss

Anagrams

• LIRG, gril

French

Etymology

From English girl. Doublet of gow.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡœʁl/

Noun

girl f (plural girls)

1. 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

1. to shiver or shudder
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:girl.
2. to tingle unpleasantly, when hearing a grating noise or biting into an acidic or unripe fruit
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:girl.