girl

A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is generally referred to as a woman. However, the term girl is also used for other meanings, including young woman, and is sometimes used as a synonym for daughter or girlfriend regardless of age. In certain contexts, the usage of the term girl for an adult woman may be considered derogatory. Girl may also be a term of endearment used by an adult, usually a woman, to designate adult female friends. Girl also appears in compounds like showgirl, cowgirl, and schoolgirl. The treatment and status of girls in any society is usually closely related to the status of women in that culture. In cultures where women have a low societal position, girls may be unwanted by their parents, and the state may invest less in services for girls. Girls' upbringing ranges from being relatively the same as that of boys to complete sex segregation and completely different gender roles. Etymology The English word girl first appeared during the Middle Ages between 1250 and 1300 CE and came from the Anglo-Saxon word (also spelled or ). The Anglo-Saxon word meaning dress or clothing item also seems to have been used as a metonym in some sense. Until the late 1400s, the word meant a child of either sex; it has meant 'female child' since about the late 1500s century.