From Middle English gerle, girle, gyrle (“young person of any gender”), perhaps from Old English *gyrele, *gyrle, from Proto-West Germanic *gurilā, from a zero-grade form of *gaurā (“young child”) + *-ilā, ultimately of unknown origin.
From Old French fille, from Latin fīlia.
But a brief etymological trip reveals that when the word started out in English, it wasn't about being female at all. ”Girl” was originally gender neutral.
Etymology. The English word girl first appeared during the Middle Ages between 1250 and 1300 CE and came from the Anglo-Saxon word gerle (also spelled girle or gurle). The Anglo-Saxon word gerela meaning dress or clothing item also seems to have been used as a metonym in some sense.
Until the late 15th century the word 'girl' simply means a child of either sex. Boys, where they had to be differentiated, were referred to as 'knave girls' and girls in the female sense were called 'gay girls'. Equally a boy could be a 'knave child' and a girl a 'maiden child'.
The early Old English (OE) wif – from the Proto-Germanic wibam, “woman” – originally denoted a female, and later became the Middle English (ME) wif, wiif, wyf.
Until the late 15th century the word 'girl' meant a child of either sex. Boys were occasionally called 'knave girls' and girls 'gay girls'.
Daughter/Son
Child; neutral, formal. Offspring; neutral, formal. Sprog; neutral, informal.
"Guy" is used to refer to a male person and "you guys" is used in a casual, gender-neutral way. This means that men or women can address other men or women by saying"you guys". It is of course informal.
Gal is used in written English to represent the word 'girl' as it is pronounced in a particular accent. ... a Southern gal who wants to make it in the movies. Synonyms: girl, woman, lady, dame [old-fashioned, or derogatory, slang, mainly US, Canadian] More Synonyms of gal.
informal a sweetheart or girlfriend. informal a woman of any age. an informal word for daughter.
Answer and Explanation: The expression 'little girl' is petite fille in French. Petite fille is pronounced, 'puh-teet fee. ' Petite is the adjective for little, and here, it is in the feminine form because it modifies a feminine noun, fille (girl).
a pretty girl [example]
une jolie môme [slg.]
A young child's exploration of different gender identities is quite common. However, for some children this may continue into later childhood and adolescence. Some people see gender as existing on a spectrum. This includes male, female and a diversity of gender identities such as non-binary and agender (no gender).
Non-binary people are usually not intersex: they're usually born with bodies that may fit typical definitions of male and female, but their innate gender identity is something other than male or female.
Things You Should Know
Doddy, Maddy, Poppy, and other combinations of “Mommy” and “Daddy” can be clever twists on gendered parent names. Creative and made up names like Zizi, Sasa, and Mimi are perfect if you prefer something with no connection to gendered names.
Until the late 15th century the word 'girl' simply means a child of either sex. Boys, where they had to be differentiated, were referred to as 'knave girls' and girls in the female sense were called 'gay girls'.
First sex-determining genes appeared in mammals some 180 million years ago. Summary: The Y chromosome, which distinguishes males from females at the genetic level, appeared some 180 million years ago.
Although the word man originally referred to both males and females, some feel that it no longer does so unambiguously. In Old English, the word wer referred to males only and wif to females only, while man referred to both, although in practice man was sometimes also used in Old English to refer only to males.
Just like Pandora in ancient Greece, Eve was known as the first woman on earth in Hebrew history. Even the creation of the two women is similar: Pandora was made of earth and water and Eve was from the rib of Adam, the first man on earth, who was in his turn made of slay.
⇒ Greek: γυναίκα (gynaíka)
The definition for “man” was updated to include gender-neutral terms and references to “sexual attractiveness or activity” were revised for “man” and “woman” entries. OUP said its lexicographers regularly review entries to make sure they are accurate.
1300, "kind, sort, class, a class or kind of persons or things sharing certain traits," from Old French gendre, genre "kind, species; character; gender" (12c., Modern French genre), from stem of Latin genus (genitive generis) "race, stock, family; kind, rank, order; species," also "(male or female) sex," from PIE root ...