See also: Gyál

English edit

Etymology 1 edit

Noun edit

gyal (plural gyals)

  1. Alternative form of gayal (Indian cattle)

Etymology 2 edit

Borrowed from Jamaican Creole gyal (girl)

Noun edit

gyal (plural gyals)

  1. (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 edit

Anagrams edit

Jamaican Creole edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Derived from English girl.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡʲal/
  • Hyphenation: gyal

Noun edit

gyal (plural gyal dem, quantified gyal)

  1. 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[1] (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 edit

As an interjection (e.g., "'Ey gyal!") the term can take on pejorative connotations and can be extremely offensive.

Further reading edit

  • gyal at JamaicanPatwah.com
  • gyal at majstro.com