girlhoodn.
/ˈɡəːlhʊd/, U.S. /ˈɡərlˌ(h)ʊd/ The state of being a girl; the time of life during which one is a girl. Also: girls collectively.
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girlhood1748
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa IV. xxvii. 149 Did she never from girlhood to now, hoyden?
1785 A. Seward Let. 25 Mar. (1811) I. 38 My mother passed her days of girlhood with an uncle at Warwick.
1833 E. Bulwer-Lytton Godolphin I. i. 3 Not a trace of the bloom or the..softness of girlhood could be marked on her countenance.
1866 A. Thomas Played Out I. xv. 285 A group of girlhood.
1880 W. H. Dixon Royal Windsor (ed. 3) III. xiii. 118 The great queen, who had known him from her girlhood.
1906 Athenæum 10 Mar. 294/3 Irresponsible Kitty..lived merrily throughout her scaramouch childhood and flirting girlhood.
1920 Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe 20 Nov. 2/1 The girlhood of America stands in urgent need of training for vigorous responsible womanhood.
1948 ‘R. Crompton’ Family Roundabout xiii. 145 Remembering the fervent friendship of their girlhood, Cynthia always felt ill-at-ease with Judy.
2001 Times 7 Nov. i. 17/2 Birdish boozing and brawling can be a corrective to a girlhood spent being told that nice girls don't and boys will be boys.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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