schoolgirlishadj.
/ˈskuːlɡəːlɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈskulˌɡərllɪʃ/ Resembling or characteristic of a schoolgirl.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [adjective] > schoolgirl
schoolgirlish1821
schoolgirly1850
1821 London Mag. Dec. 666/2 He..found her delivery clear,..which was loudly denied by those in the upper circles and gallery, with such terms as ‘weak, tame, thin, reedy, school-girlish’.
1867 R. Broughton Cometh up as Flower I. i. 9 So school girlish, as if you had never seen a man before!
1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel III. 8 What a romantic schoolgirlish notion!
1916 A. Bennett Lion's Share xi. 82 Audrey gave occasional schoolgirlish leaps by their side.
1965 Times 24 May 13/2 Meeting her for the first time one is struck by her particular brand of schoolgirlish fun.
2001 L.A. Mag. Jan. 71/1 [She] initially seemed schoolgirlish, her hands folded in her lap, hair pinned down with a silver butterfly.
Derivatives
ˈschoolgirlishness n.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > schoolgirl > conduct of
schoolgirlishness1852
schoolgirlism1860
1852 New Monthly Mag. 95 21 Miss Austen's estimate of love..is as far as can be from that of sickly sentimentalism or flighty schoolgirlishness.
1933 D. Thomas Let. Nov. (1987) 43 My..sister passed through the stages of longlegged schoolgirlishness..and social snobbery into a comfortable married life.
2007 Evening Standard (Nexis) 26 Mar. 34 She..giggles easily. This gives her an air of cheery schoolgirlishness, even though she is now 24.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1821