all-girl

The compound adjective "all-girl" is a modern formation built from two native English elements. "All" derives from the Proto-Germanic allaz, carrying the core sense of "whole" or "entire," which has remained remarkably stable. "Girl" has a more complex journey, likely originating from a Low German source related to a word for a young person, and its meaning narrowed over centuries to specifically denote a female child or young woman. The logic of the compound is transparently descriptive: "all" modifies "girl" to specify that the group in question is exclusively and completely composed of girls, as seen in terms like "all-girl school" or "all-girl band."

Structure: all (whole) + girl (female child) - all: From Old English eall, meaning "whole, entire, every." It functions as a quantifier indicating completeness. - girl: From Middle English girle, gerle, meaning "child, young person" (originally gender-neutral). It functions as the noun root specifying the type of entity.