Sense file
How the sense moved
The archive follows the dated record first, then reads the social or rhetorical pressure that hardened, softened, narrowed, or reversed the word.
Older meaning
A young person of either sex.
Modern meaning
A female child or young woman.
Research lens
The archive uses this entry as a compact map, not a complete monograph.
Meaning trail
Older use
young person
The term was broader than its modern use.
Shift
young female
Usage converged around gendered reference.
Now
female child
The narrowed sense became standard.