little girln.adj.

1549 W. Thomas Hist. Italie f. 203^v Vgolino..[married] vnto a little girle of Becacci da Pauia.

1573 W. Smith XII. Mery Iests ix. sig. E.ii She tould the Earle, That she had a daughter a little gerle.

1653 Speeches & Confession A. Knight & T. Laret 8 He desired to see his little girl, which being brought unto him, he embrac'd the poor soul, and wept bitterly.

1727 M. Davys Accomplish'd Rake 122 I beg you will lay the subject by till I have seen my Dear Sister, and know how her poor little Girl does.

1775 S. Johnson Let. 13 July (1992) II. 246 Mr. Flints little girl is alive and well.

1836 Cottager's Monthly Visitor Jan. 9 John is married, and has two little girls; William is married, and has one little girl.

1893 H. James Notebks. 26 Dec. (1981) 139 I imagine a young man who has lost his wife and who has a little girl, the only issue of that prematurely frustrated union.

1941 J. Grenfell Let. 28 Dec. in Darling Ma (1989) 325 I'd sent Mrs Proctor and her little girls home for Christmas.

1983 J. Nicholson Heartache of Motherhood (1984) vi. 41 My little girl was as amenable and beautiful as my little son.

2013 Daily Tel. 15 July 21/3 Their little girl Abigail, seven,..was born with Batten disease, a life-limiting genetic condition.

1534 N. Udall Floures for Latine Spekynge gathered oute of Terence f. 43 She was taken, conueyed, or stolen awaye from hens whan she was but a lyttell one, or, whan she was a very lyttell gyrle.]

1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. A4^v Little girls that yesterday had scarce a hand to make them ready.

1687 in J. Lauder Decisions Lords of Council (1759) I. 439 Reid the Mountebank pursues Scot of Harden..for stealing away from him a little girl..that danced upon his stage.

1733 J. Lockman tr. Voltaire Lett. conc. Eng. Nation xi. 65 These unhappy Creatures repeat their Lesson to their Mothers, in the same manner as little Girls among us repeat their Catechism, without understanding one Word they say.

1770 G. Baretti Journey London to Genoa I. 137 I hate to see a little girl with a tupee.

1802 C. Wilmot Irish Peer on Continent (1920) 51 The little girls, till they are eleven or twelve years old most frequently dress ‘en garçon’.

1878 H. James Watch & Ward i. 13 The little girl was sent to bed, having been kissed by her aunt.

1910 H. H. Richardson Getting of Wisdom xiii. 131 Always a very inquisitive little girl, she was now agog to learn new lore.

1955 ‘Miss Read’ Village School 134 Three energetic little girls were skipping in the playground.

2007 I. McDonald Brasyl 195 Look, little girl, I'm no silver surfer, but even I can recognize a return e-mail address.

1863 C. M. Yonge Trial xiii, in Monthly Packet Jan. 23 Gertrude did not like people in the ‘little girl’ stage.

1896 E. Turner Little Larrikin xiii. 149 Isn't he a bit like your little-girl ideal man? When you were seventeen..and had ideals?

1938 Chatelaine July 27/1 Last year it was the Little Girl Look.

1939 M. B. Picken Lang. Fashion 95/3 Little girl collar, narrow, round collar, smaller than Peter Pan or Buster Brown.

1949 M. Miller Sure Thing (1950) 69 Her voice was a little-girl voice.

1967 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 5 Jan. (1970) 470 In came Lynda..wearing..little-girl flat shoes.

1998 O. Kempadoo Buxton Spice (1999) 36 Pretty girl, like she... Used to do her hair in little-girl ringlets.

1953 Time 23 Feb. 54/2 If the words are sad, her face takes on a little-girl-lost look.

1963 Guardian 18 Jan. 4/6 Her little-girl-lost brand of charm.

1974 M. Higgins Changeling ix. 46 That little-girl-lost look you have.

2008 A. Bast Chosen Sin xxii. 233 The pain in her voice was so raw, so little-girl-lost.

1935 J. O'Hara Butterfield 8 ix. 279 The women's toilet (as distinguished from the ladies' room in a speakeasy, the johnny at school, the little girls' room at a party in an apartment, and the wash-my-hands on a train) was clean enough.

1959 P. H. Johnson Humbler Creation vi. 43 ‘I wonder where on earth she's gone?’.. ‘Probably to the little girls' room.’

1975 ‘A. Thackeray’ One Way Ticket i. 10 I just saw Maggie disappear into the little girls' room.

2003 ‘Zane’ Nervous iii. 28 Brenda and two of her groupies were in the little girls' room cheesing in the mirrors.

1840 Fraser's Mag. Apr. 403/1 Time wears out the daring of little-girl-hood, and the dulness of little-boy-hood.

1925 ‘R. Crompton’ Still—William viii. 134 His ideal of little-girlhood was Joan, dark haired and dark-eyed and shy.

1945 ‘O. Malet’ My Bird Sings i. iv. 30 Camille, glad of her still unquestioned little-girlhood, kept out of the way.

2012 J. Wilson Emerald Star 183 I had been paddled hard throughout my little girlhood, but I dare say I deserved it.

1834 Athenæum 16 Aug. 612/1 His very best easel-pictures are little-girlish, affected, and un-ideal.

1901 A. F. Brown Lonesomest Doll 35 Clotilde soon became little-girlish again.

1962 I. Murdoch Unofficial Rose xiii. 122 She spoke with a little-girlish satisfaction.

2004 New Yorker 8 Nov. 108/2 A voice that grew more cartoonishly little-girlish with each year she spent on Central Park West.

1885 Rocky Mountain News (Denver) 20 Dec. 10/2 She has no talent as an actress and depends for her success on her odd adaptability to little girlishness.

1936 ‘J. Curtis’ Gilt Kid v. 58 It was obvious that she was playing little girlishness for all that she was worth.

2002 R. A. Crick Big Screen Comedies of Mel Brooks v. 95/1 Her pouty, Shirley Temple–like little-girlishness.