Etymology

girl

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Today it means: A female child. Full definition →

Middle English gerle ← Old English *gyrele ← Proto-West Germanic *gurilā
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girl · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*gurilā
  2. Old English · inherited from*gyrele
  3. Middle English · inherited fromgerle
  4. English todaygirl

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. Cognates Cognate with Yola gurl (“child, girl”), German Gör, Göre (“brat, cheeky young child”), Low German Gör (“child”).

Girl · proper noun2

  1. Mandarin · calque of女宿
  2. English todayGirl

Calque of Mandarin 女宿 (Nǚxiù).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.