1941, literally "daughter of command;" a Jewish girl who has reached age 12, the age of religious majority. Extended to the ceremony held on occasion of this.

"gentile girl," in Jewish culture, dismissive or disparaging, 1892 (Zangwill), from Yiddish shikse, from Hebrew siqsa, from sheqes "a detested thing" + fem. suffix -a.

also nymphet, nymphete, "sexually attractive young girl," 1955, introduced by Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) in his novel "Lolita" to describe an alluring (in the minds of some men) girl age 9 to 14; from nymph + diminutive suffix. Nymphet was used from 17c. in sense "a little nymph," but this was poetic only by late 19c.

named 1664 by one of the proprietors, Sir George Carteret, for his home, the Channel island of Jersey. Jersey girl attested from 1770.

"trinket, gewgaw," also (transferred) "pretty girl," 1964, American English, from Yiddish, from a Slavic source (compare Russian tsatska).

"coarse, frolicsome girl or woman," mid-15c., rampe, "a virago, shrew," perhaps from early senses of ramp (v.) via the notion of "rear up on the hind legs to attack," hence, of persons, "to attack like a rampant animal." Also compare ramp (n.1). Johnson's Dictionary (1755) has romp: "a rude, awkward, boisterous, untaught girl."

"boy employed in a shop," 1813, from shop (n.) + boy (n.). Shopman as "assistant in a shop" is by 1758. Shop-girl , also shopgirl, "girl employed in a shop" is by 1820; earlier it meant "a domestic servant who assists in shopping" (by 1781); shop-maid is from 1650s; shop-woman from 1753. Genderless shop-assistant is by 1812, British English; slang shoppie (or shoppy) is by 1909.

"sexual attractiveness," 1937 (umph), suggestive visceral physical sound. Ann Sheridan (1915–1967) was the original Hollywood oomph girl (1939).

the bud of a rose, the flower of a rose before it blooms," c. 1500, from rose (n.1) + bud (n.). Hence, "young girl in her first bloom, a debutante."

1540s, mynx "pet dog," later (1590s) "a young, pert, wanton girl" [Johnson], also "a lewd woman," a word of uncertain origin, perhaps a shortening of minikin "girl, woman," from Middle Dutch minnekijn "darling, beloved," from minne "love" (see minnesinger) + diminutive suffix -kijn (see -kin). Klein's sources suggest the word is from Low German minsk "a man," also "an impudent woman," related to German Mensch (see mensch), which in vulgar use also has a sense of "wench, hussy, slut."