girl

/ɡɜːrl/·noun·c. 1290 (Middle English 'girle,' meaning a child of either sex)·Disputed

Origin

Originally meant 'a young person of either sex' — boys could be called 'girls' until the word narrowed to females in the 15th-16th c.

Definition

A female child or young woman.

The Full Story

Middle English13th centuryetymology disputed

From Middle English 'girle' or 'gurle,' meaning 'a child or young person of either sex.' The word's ultimate origin is uncertain — it has no clear cognates in other Germanic languages and may be related to Old English 'gyrela' (garment) or Low German 'gör' (child). In Middle English, 'girl' referred to any young person, male or female

Did you know?

In the thirteenth century, 'girl' meant any young person, male or female. If you needed to specify sex, you said 'knave girl' for a boy and 'gay girl' for a female. The word 'boy' had a similarly tangled history

Girl Wiki Article· 3 min read

girl

Origin

Definition

The Full Story

See also

Ancient Roots

This Word in Other Languages

Related Words

Also from Middle English