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girl — a female child or young woman

Part of speech: NOUN

Definition: a female child or young woman

Pronunciation (IPA): /ɡɜːrl/

Example Sentences

  • The girl next door turned out to be a K-pop trainee!
  • Every girl in the class wanted to be class president.
  • She's still a girl at heart, even though she's 30.

girl

NOUN

[/ɡɜːrl/]

a female child or young woman

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🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ɡɜːrl/
🇬🇧 UK/ɡɜːl/

🌳Etymology

Rootgirl

Origin

The word derives from Middle English 'girle,' which originally referred to a child of either gender. Over time, the meaning narrowed to denote specifically a female child, a semantic shift that occurred gradually during the medieval and early modern periods.

Breakdown

girle (Middle English: young person, child of either sex) → girl (modern English: young female). The suffix -le in Middle English was a diminutive marker, gradually dropped in modern English.

🎵Rhyme

curl
pearl
whirl
swirl

🔗Collocations

little girl
school girl
girl group
baby girl
teenage girl
girl power

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

“The girl next door turned out to be a K-pop trainee!”

“Every girl in the class wanted to be class president.”

“She's still a girl at heart, even though she's 30.”

😄 Fun example

“The girl accidentally ordered 100 pizzas instead of 1.”

📚Related Words

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