GRAPH-WIDE SEARCH
MEASURE THE GRAPH ↗NOT JUST A DICTIONARY LOOKUP
6 EVIDENCE COLLECTIONSSEARCH
THE GRAPH.
Find a modern word—or search sideways through reconstructed roots, historical forms, meanings, languages, scholars, sources, claims, disputes, and witnesses.
011
MODERN ENTRY POINTS
WORD DOSSIERS
025
ATTESTED / RECONSTRUCTED / BOUNDARY
HISTORICAL FORMS
●
Present-Day English / Indo-European
girl
female child; young woman
- DATE
- 14th century–today
- MATCH
- exact historical form
- DOSSIERS
- 1
Middle English / Indo-European
girle
child or young person of either sex; girl
- DATE
- Middle English
- MATCH
- historical-form prefix
- DOSSIERS
- 1
Old English / Indo-European
*gyrela
proposed predecessor of girle
- DATE
- proposed Old English form
- MATCH
- gloss
- DOSSIERS
- 0
Beyond secure reconstruction
UNKNOWN
No securely established origin is currently known before Middle English girle.
- DATE
- before the reviewed Middle English girle horizon
- MATCH
- gloss
- DOSSIERS
- 1
Beyond secure reconstruction
UNKNOWN
No securely promoted relationship carries the girl dossier beyond this tentative comparison.
- DATE
- before the reviewed Old English garment comparison
- MATCH
- gloss
- DOSSIERS
- 0
033
WHERE INTERPRETATION IS TESTED
CLAIMS & DISPUTES
SCHOLARLY DISPUTES / 2
openproposedexact word
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.
resolvedestablishedexact word
Did Middle English girl mean only a female child?
No. Girle could denote a child or young person of either sex and could even be specified as a boy.
CONTRARIAN TRUTHS / 1
RANK 122GRADE Aexact ranked word
Girl could once refer to a boy.
Middle English girle could denote a child of either sex; later English narrowed it toward a female child or young woman.
043
BOOKS / DICTIONARIES / ARTICLES / DATABASES
SOURCES
historical dictionary12 CLAIM LINKS
girle — Middle English Dictionary
Middle English Dictionary Editors / 2026
title prefixAUDIT EVERY USE ↗historical dictionary5 CLAIM LINKS
Girl — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use
Merriam-Webster Editors / 2026
title prefixAUDIT EVERY USE ↗historical dictionary4 CLAIM LINKS
Girl — American Heritage Dictionary
American Heritage Dictionary Editors / 2022
title prefixAUDIT EVERY USE ↗051
FIRST USES & HISTORICAL OBJECTS
ATTESTATION WITNESSES
06
SEARCH IS DISCOVERY, NOT PROOF
EVERY RESULT OPENS A PERMANENT EVIDENCE RECORD.
Matching text only locates a record. It does not raise confidence, settle a dispute, establish cognacy, or turn a source report into direct inspection. Follow the result into its citations and editorial limits.