“Girls” is a form of
girl
UK /ˈɡɜːl/ · US /ˈɡɜɹl/ noun, verb, proper noun
Also a form of grill
Forms girls girling girled gal guhl gel girle gyrle gorl gril grrrl grrl guhrl gurl gworl gyal
- noun A female child. “I saw a little girl feeding, brushing, and talking to a heifer.”
- noun (sometimes offensive, see usage note) A woman, especially a young and often attractive woman. “He has a crush on a girl at work. We were kidding with him yesterday about his work crush.”
- noun (colloquial) A term of address to a female (see usage notes) “Hey, girl, I haven't seen you since last week! Where you been?”
- noun (colloquial) One's girlfriend. “He lucked out with that girl of his. Smart, sweet, sassy, and pretty too.”
- noun (colloquial) One's daughter. “Your girl turned up on our doorstep. She was crying about the argument on the playground. We let her vent.”
- noun (especially with a possessive) A female friend.
- noun A female non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a female pet, especially a dog. “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!”
- noun (somewhat childish, as a modifier) A female (tree, gene, etc). “Are you getting a boy cat or a girl cat?”
- verb (transitive) To feminize or girlify; to gender as a girl or as for girls.
- verb (somewhat informal) To staff with or as a girl or girls.
- proper noun (astronomy) A Chinese constellation located near Aquarius, one of the 28 lunar mansions and part of the Black Turtle.
Synonyms
girlie lass lassie char charlady charwoman maid maiden maidservant womanservant benzoylmethylecgonine blow Bolivian marching powder booger sugar boots California corn flakes charlie ching coke corinne miss missy young lady young woman fille female child little girl daughter girlfriend lady friend
Antonyms
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.
Cognate with Yola gurl (“child, girl”), German Gör, Göre (“brat, cheeky young child”), Low German Gör (“child”).
Calque of Mandarin 女宿 (Nǚxiù).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A young person of either sex; a child. [Obs.] Chaucer.
- noun A female child, from birth to the age of puberty; a young maiden.
Etymology [OE. girle, gerle, gurle, a girl (in sense 1): cf. LG. gör child.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “girl”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details