Word: girl Part of Speech: noun 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. Cognates Cognate with Yola gurl (“child, girl”), German Gör, Göre (“brat, cheeky young child”), Low German Gör (“child”). Pronunciation: /ˈɡɜːl/, /ˈɡɛəl/, /ˈɡɪəl/, /ˈɡɜɹl/, [ˈɡɝəɫ] 1. A female child. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I saw a little girl feeding, brushing, and talking to a heifer. 2. A woman, especially a young and often attractive woman. Labels: countable, offensive, sometimes, uncountable Example: He has a crush on a girl at work. We were kidding with him yesterday about his work crush. 3. A term of address to a female (see usage notes) Labels: colloquial, countable, uncountable Example: Hey, girl, I haven't seen you since last week! Where you been? Example: "My dear girl, what has he done?" said Mrs. Mallowe, sweetly. It is noticeable that ladies of a certain age call each other "dear girl," just as commissioners of twenty-eight years' standing address their equals in the Civil List as "my boy." 4. One's girlfriend. Labels: colloquial, countable, uncountable Example: He lucked out with that girl of his. Smart, sweet, sassy, and pretty too. Example: There isn't any guy going to steal my girl! 5. One's daughter. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Your girl turned up on our doorstep. She was crying about the argument on the playground. We let her vent. 6. A female friend. Labels: countable, especially, uncountable 7. A female non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a female pet, especially a dog. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Hey, Tricksy, come here, girl! Do you want a treat? Yes, you love those biscuits, don't you! What a good girl! Here's another! Example: Sheila – 9yo Blue Cattle Dog x. Lovely girl seeks forever home. 8. A female (tree, gene, etc). Labels: childish, countable, uncountable Example: Are you getting a boy cat or a girl cat? Example: Are there “boy” trees and “girl” trees? Yes. A number of species, among them the yew, holly and date-bearing palm, have their male and female flowers on different trees. The male holly, for instance, must be planted fairly close to the female ... 9. A machine or vehicle, especially one that the speaker uses often and is fond of. Labels: countable, informal, uncountable Example: The old girl ain't as pretty as she once was, but she still purrs like a kitten and still gets out of her own way! Example: Daly came, delved into the old girl's inner works, and had her working in jig time. 10. A female servant; a maid. (see usage notes) Labels: countable, uncountable Example: He assumed that the girls should clean up his giant mess. We straightened out his misconception. 11. Cocaine, especially in powder form. Labels: US, slang, uncountable Example: He's the sort of lowlife who snorts coke and refers to it as his girl. Example: She had taught me to snort girl, and almost always when I came to her pad, there would be thin sparkling rows of crystal cocaine on the glass top of the cocktail table. 12. A queen (the playing card). Labels: countable, slang, uncommon, uncountable Example: Are your sure you want to discard that old girl? 13. A roebuck two years old. Labels: UK, countable, dialectal, obsolete, uncountable 14. A child of any gender. Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable