slang pronunciation of girl, 1795, originally noted as a vulgarism (in Benjamin Dearborn's "Columbian Grammar"). Compare gell, 19c. literary form of the Northern England dialectal variant of girl, also g'hal, the girlfriend of a b'hoy (1849). Gal Friday is 1940, in reference to "Robinson Crusoe."

also girl-friend, by 1859 as "a woman's female friend in youth," from girl + friend (n.). As a man's sweetheart, by 1922. She-friend was used 17c. in the same set of senses, of the mistress of a man and of a woman who is a close friend of another.

"homely or unattractive woman, girl without beauty," attested by 1912, a rhyming formation from plain (adj.).

"serving to reveal; having the nature or character of a revelation," 1882; see revelation + -ory.

late 14c., "serving to bind," past-participle adjective from bind (v.). The meaning "having power to bind" is from 1610s.

"in an ill manner," 1540s, from ill (adj.) + -ly (2). Correctly formed but seldom used; simple ill generally serving as the adverb.

"young lady, girl," 1510s, from French demoiselle (Old French damoisele, dameisele, dameiselle); an unmodified form of damsel (q.v.).

mid-15c., in grammar, "correlative," from Latin expletivus "serving to fill out" (see expletive (n.)).

also jailbait, "girl under the legal age of consent conceived as a sex object," 1928, from jail (n.) + bait (n.).

"young girl," U.S. slang, c. 2002, from American Spanish chica "girl," fem. of chico "boy," noun use of adjective meaning "small" (here used as an affectionate term of address), from Latin ciccum, literally "chick-pea," figurative of a small thing or an object of little value (compare Old French chiche).