Gibson Girl

noun

A personification of American ideal feminine beauty around the beginning of the 20th century, depicted as voluptuous but ladylike and fashionable.

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Meanings

nounGibson Girl (plural Gibson Girls)

plural Gibson Girls

  1. A personification of American ideal feminine beauty around the beginning of the 20th century, depicted as voluptuous but ladylike and fashionable.
  2. UShistoricalslanggovernmentA survival radio transmitter carried by aircraft on over-water operations.

Origin

Introduced in the satirical works of illustrator Charles Dana Gibson in the 1890s. (radio transmitter): So called from its hourglass shape (allowing it to be held between one's legs while the generator handle was turned), supposed to resemble a womanly figure.

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Cite this entry
APA

Gibson Girl. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gibson%20Girl

MLA

“Gibson Girl.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gibson%20Girl. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Gibson Girl,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gibson%20Girl.

Source: Gibson Girl on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.