This might sound a bit weird to all, but you, me and everyone on this planet is or was a girl at some point of time. No, I am not talking about the X and Y chromosomes, which determine the biological sex of a person, I am telling you that literally we were all girls!!
Confused? Here is the answer.
In Old English, the term ‘girl’ meant a young person of any sex. The word girl was first documented in 1290s and designated to either a male or female child. So, whenever someone referred to a male child as “hey girl”, it was perceived as a normal thing and the person was not branded as a lunatic or blind.
Now arises the big question, how did they differentiate between the two genders? That’s easy, a female child was called a gay girl and a male child was called a knave girl. As time passed, the sense of the word was narrowed down and designated to a female child. It is also said that, since the 1530s, girl was also used to refer mature but unmarried young women.
Well, that’s something, isn’t it? Do share this article for knowledge sake (and to tease all your guy friends as girls).
Do you know any such facts? Let us know in the comment section below.
