• Original language: English
  • Original form and meaning: +1.) 'a young and easy female', +1a.) 'a female working in a cabaret'

"This term is well-known, but little used outside compunds (see call~, play~), relating to 'girls' only in a facetious or deprecatory way. The marginal uses make it difficult to predict whether the word will become established more widely." (DEA*, p. 133)


(Note: If the status is not specifically indicated then the word is stylistically neutral and generally used; if earlier meaning and status equals current use the former may be expressed by writing "dito". Cf. also the project guidelines.)


Language Form Date of Borrowing (and Obsolescence) Current Meaning and Status Earlier Meanings and Statusses Source
Catalan ... ... '...' '...' ...
Croatian gerla beg20c meaning +1a; status: fully accepted but still marked as English DEA*
Czech ... ... '...' '...' ...
Danish ... ... '...' '...' ...
Dutch ... ... '...' '...' ...
English girl of uncertain origin, the M.E. variants gurle, girle, gerle suggest an original ü, perhaps related to Low German Göre 'boy, girl' 'female child' (16c), 'a young unmarried woman, lass, maid', (informal) 'sweetheart, girlfriend', (informal) 'a woman of any age', (informal) 'daughter', 'a female employee, esp. a female servant', (South African derogatory) 'a Black female servant of any age', the girls (informal) 'a group of women, esp. acquaintances' 'youth or maiden' (13c) Collins English Dictionary (4th ed.), CODEE**
Estonian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Finnish ... ... '...' '...' ...
French girl [gœRl] beg20c meaning +1a; status: restricted use DEA*
Frisian ... ... '...' '...' ...
German Girl [görl] beg20c meaning +1 (status: restricted to colloquial use) and meaning +1a (status: restricted to technical use) DEA*
Hungarian görl [gərl] end19/beg20c meaning +1a; status: fully accepted but still marked as English, obsolescent DEA*
Irish ... ... '...' '...' ...
Italian girl [gœrl/gεrl] 1910s meaning +1; status: fully accepted but still marked as English DEA*
Latvian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Lithuanian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Maltese ... ... '...' '...' ...
Norwegian girl [= Engl. pron.] 20c meaning +1; status: restricted use DEA*
Polish girlsa [gerlsa] beg20c meaning +1a; status: fully accepted but still marked as English DEA*
Portuguese ... ... '...' '...' ...
Rumantsch ... ... '...' '...' ...
Slovak ... ... '...' '...' ...
Slovenian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Spanish girl [gel] 1920s meaning +1; status: restricted to technical use DEA*
Swedish ... ... '...' '...' ...
  • Annotations: *DEA = Dictionary of European Anglicisms by Manfred Görlach (2001), Oxford: OUP.; **CODEE = The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology by T.F. Hoad (1986), Oxford: Clarendon.

Information on Other Languages

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  • Romanian: girl, meaning +1; status: known mainly to bilinguals, restricted to colloquial, euphemistic, facetious use and journalese.
  • Russian: gerla/gërl; mid20c; meanings +1 and +1a; status: restricted to colloquial and facetious use.
  • Bulgarian: gŭrla; beg20c; meanings +1 and +1a; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English, pejorative.,