Trevorum 24 Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Calico, I love learning new stuff and I thank you for this tid-bit! Wikipedia confirms the etymology of "girl": "The word "girl" first appears during the Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxon word gyrela = "ornament" may have given rise to the modern pronunciation of "girl", if the change in meaning can be explained. While there is no general agreement about the etymology of "girl", it is found in manuscripts dating from 1290 with the meaning "a child" (of either gender). A male child was called a "Knave girl"; a female child was called a "gay girl". Like many other words that originally were not gender specific, "girl" gradually came to be used primarily and then exclusively for one gender. There are manuscripts dating from 1530 in which the word "girl" is used to mean "maiden" (also originally applied to both genders), or any unmarried human female. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl#Etymology Link to post Share on other sites
CalicoPenn 729 Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 Trevorum, Glad you could find something new in my post. Plenty a young lad in my troop were sent to the Oxford English Dictionary at the local library to look up the term Girl if they complained. No one complained after learning the history of the word. It helped that it was used as a term of endearment. CalicoPenn Link to post Share on other sites
OldGreyEagle 5 Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 Funny how things change, I remember when being gay meant full of joy, Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1615 Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Scouts..... Boys..... (Girls....)Cubs...Campers... Please, not 'guys'... Call them, name them for what they ARE, what you WANT them to be. Not the "G" word... ... lets see now..."guy... from the Fr. 1)(obs) a grotesque effigy of Guy Fawlkes, paraded on Guy Fawlkes Day. 2)(slang) a male person. 3) VT. to brace or reinforce. 4) to guide, as on a path." Don't rename our organization. Are you a Scoutmaster or a Guymaster? Yes, it's hard to break old easy habits, but I think it's worth the effort. Who are these young humans before us? Ordinary Young Humans? or... I don't want my son to be a 'guy' . I want my son to be a "Scout". Link to post Share on other sites
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