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gyal. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
gyal, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
gyal in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
gyal you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology 1
Noun
gyal (plural gyals)
- Alternative form of gayal (“Indian cattle”)
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Jamaican Creole gyal (“girl”), from English girl.
Noun
gyal (plural gyals)
- (MLE, MTE) Pronunciation spelling of girl.
2006, “A Little Bit of Shhh”, in Vertically Challenged, performed by Lady Sovereign:It's cold: there's a new top gyal on road / Running t'ing, running t'ing, running t'ing – everything: oh, you've been told
2019, “Vossi Bop”, performed by Stormzy:Man, I wouldn't even try my luck with her / Gyals say I'm boujee
Derived terms
Anagrams
Jamaican Creole
Etymology
Derived from English girl.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɡʲal/
- Hyphenation: gyal
Noun
gyal (plural gyal dem, quantified gyal)
- girl
Nuh ramp wid har. A bad gyal dat.- Don't mess around with her. That girl's tough.
2007, Robert Lalah, “Portia's potable water - Hot topic in cool Manchester”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):“"Gyal make haste wid di water nuh man! Why you one haffi have five bucket?" one woman shouted. She kicked aside a white bucket that was under the pipe and the water from the tank started to fall on the ground. "Do nuh take it out pan di water!" a woman standing nearby shouted hysterically. […] ”
Usage notes
As an interjection (e.g., "'Ey gyal!") the term can take on pejorative connotations and can be extremely offensive.
Descendants
Further reading
- gyal at JamaicanPatwah.com
- gyal at majstro.com