SOURCE 01supportshistorical dictionary
Girl — American Heritage Dictionary
Defines the secure boundary.
Etymology: origin unknown- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- American Heritage Dictionary Editors
- YEAR
- 2022
- PUBLISHER
- HarperCollins
PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗CLAIM / COUNTERCLAIM / LIMITRECORD 283
DISPUTE
RECORD.
One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
openproposed
Does girl have a securely known Old English ancestor?
No. American Heritage labels the origin unknown; the Middle English Dictionary marks *gyrela and a gierela garment comparison as uncertain.
WORD UNDER REVIEWDISPUTE 283
girl
/ɡɜːrl/ · noun
A female child or young woman; in Middle English the word could denote a child or young person of either sex.
01
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
2 SOURCES WITH A STANCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
SOURCE 02contexthistorical dictionary
girle — Middle English Dictionary
Preserves the tentative alternatives.
Etymology: question-marked *gyrela and gierela comparisons- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Middle English Dictionary Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- University of Michigan
02 / EDITORIAL STATE
THE QUESTION REMAINS OPEN.
- CONFIDENCE
- proposed
- STATUS
- open
- LEGACY SOURCE SUMMARY
- The reviewed sources agree on the secure Middle English horizon but differ in how much tentative prehistory to display.
Both proposals remain graph-only and end at separate evidence boundaries.