girlfriend

Girlfriend ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends.^[1]

This term is often used loosely, and there is some debate over what exactly constitutes a girlfriend. Having a girl to agree to such an arrangement is considered a milestone for young males, and is often seen as a sign of status, based on the perception of the girl amongst the male's peers.

Different terms used

Although nuanced, for some there is a significant difference between "girlfriend" (one word) and "girl friend" (two words), or "boyfriend" (one word) and "boy friend" (two words).^{[citation needed]}. In a strictly grammatical sense, a "girlfriend" or "boyfriend" is an individual with whom one shares a romantic relationship. A "girl friend" or "boy friend", however, is simply a friend identified on the basis of gender. This is sometimes also contravened by simply stating "ladyfriend" or "guyfriend". The terms "friend girl" (and "friend boy") are also sometimes used to indicate a platonic friendship. The transition between the two is a significant aspect of adolescent development.^[2]

Despite this, both forms of "girlfriend" and "girl friend" are used by different people to mean different things. For example, when the term "girlfriend" is used by a girl or woman about another female in a non-sexual, non-romantic context, the two-word form "girl friend" is sometimes used to avoid confusion with the sexual or romantic meaning; however, this is not a rule. In this sense of its usage, "girlfriend" is used in terms of very close friends and has no sexual connotations, unless it is in the case of lesbian, bisexual, or pansexual women. The term "girlfriend" is also used in LGBT communities and can refer to people of any gender or sexuality.^[1][3]

The term "girlfriend" does not necessarily imply a sexual relationship, but is often used to refer to a girl or woman who is dating a person she is not engaged to without indicating whether she is having sex with him or her. With differing expectations of sexual mores, the term dating can imply romantic activity whereas simply using "friend" would likely avoid implying such intimacy. It is essentially equivalent to the term "sweetheart", which has also been used as a term of endearment.^{[citation needed]}

Related terms

• A female engaged in an extramarital relationship with a male married person is frequently considered a "mistress".
• Some terms of endearment directed to females, a romantic relationship not required, are "darling", "sweetheart", "love", "babe", etc.
• Users of Internet slang and SMS slang often shorten girlfriend to the initialism gf.^[4]
• Additionally, gender-indiscriminate terms also apply (e.g., lover, heartthrob, paramour, squeeze, sweetheart, true love, wooer, date, escort, steady, admirer, or companion).
• Partners in a non-marital relationship are sometimes described instead as a significant other, partner, or life partner, especially if the two partners are living together. At times, since "girlfriend" and "partner" mean different things to different people, the distinctions between the terms are subjective, and which term is used in a relationship will ultimately be determined by personal preference.

Distinction from "lady friend"

A similar, but not equivalent, concept is the more ambiguous "lady friend" – a companion of the female gender who is possibly less than a girlfriend but potentially more than a friend. That is to say, the relationship is not necessarily platonic, nor on the other hand, is it necessarily an exclusive, serious, committed, or long-term relationship. Yet, the term also avoids the overt sexual implications that come with referring to a woman as someone's "mistress" or "lover". In that sense, it can often be a euphemism. Yet, this is not always the case; it is also sometimes employed when someone simply does not know the exact status of a woman that a man has been associating with. For instance, tabloid headlines often note that a celebrity has been seen with a new "lady friend".^[5][6] "Lady friend" may also be used to signify a romantic relationship with an older woman, when the term "girl" as in "girlfriend" may be deemed age-inappropriate.

The New York Times style guide discourages the use of the term "girlfriend" for an adult romantic partner, stating, "Companion is a suitable term for an unmarried partner of the same or the opposite sex." ^[7] The Times received some criticism^[7] for referring to Shaha Riza as the "girlfriend" of World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz in one article about the controversy over their relationship. Other news articles in the Times had generally referred to her as Wolfowitz's "companion".

See also

Look up girlfriend in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Boyfriend
• Courtship
• Domestic partnership
• Engagement
• Marriage
• Wedding

References

Bibliography

• Sociocultural Perspectives on Language Change in Diaspora David R. Andrews (1998); John Benjamins Publishing Company, ISBN 9027218358.
• The Handbook of Language and Gender By Janet Holmes, Miriam Meyerhoff (2003); Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 0631225021.
• In Your Face: Stories from the Lives of Queer Youth Mary L. Gray (1999); Haworth Press, ISBN 0789000768.
• Defining Language: A Local Grammar of Definition Sentences Geoff Barnbrook (2002); John Benjamins Publishing Company, ISBN 1588112985.
• How Not To Say What You Mean: A Dictionary of Euphemisms R. W. Holder (2002); Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198604025.