girlfriend:
(plural: ‘girlfriends; pronunciation: the letter ‘g’ in this word rhymes with the letter ‘g’ in the word “garden”; male: ‘boyfriend‘)
a boy with his girlfriend
any girl who is a friend of somebody;
a female whom a person loves and has sex with (but not a wife, though a few girlfriends later become wives to their boyfriends);
a lover; a sweetheart,
football star Ronaldo (R) with his girlfriend & fiancee
Peter is so jealous of his girlfriend that he doesn’t want her to be out of his sight at late-night parties!
It is to be understood that a friend who happens to be a girl is just a friend who shares joys, griefs and interests and likes to spend time with, but a girlfriend is certainly more than that and there is always the issue of sex involved in this relationship … just a step away from being a lover.
Some young men think that a girl that shows some interest in a man is his girlfriend, missing the important point that a girlfriend is entirely different from a friend or an acquaintance.
There is a difference between ‘girlfriend’ & ‘girl friend’ — with and without a space between ‘girl’ and ‘friend’ (or ‘boy’ and ‘friend’).
With a “girl friend” — with a space between the two words, probably a classmate or neighbour, a boy spends some time, alone or together with other boys and girls. He does not allow her to have much physical contact… not more than a pat on the shoulder, just a handshake or at the most, on special occasions, a light kiss on the cheek. A boy seldom discusses personal matters with a “girl friend”. And when the girl is with other boys, he does not feel anything and may join them and have a chat… without any emotions or, more importantly, without any jealousy. He does not always think of her or remember her and does not expect her to come to his aid whenever he is in trouble. The friendship ends because of circumstances, such as the girl going to a different school or college, the girl’s parents moving to another place or the girl finding a boyfriend, and there are no emotions and regrets in parting. The friendship may or may not continue for ever.
With a ‘boyfriend’ — without a space between the two words, however, there is more than just friendship; there is romance … a sort of romantic relationship! The boy moves more closely with her, and allows her to have more freedom to touch him, to caress him and even have foreplay at times and have sex, in some rare cases. A boy does not tolerate when his ‘girlfriend’ is seen with another boy or he does not allow other boys talk about her. He develops emotional feelings for her and expects the same or even more from her in response. He thinks of her and expects her to be by his side whenever he needs some help or company. A girlfriend is, more or less, like a love, but may not be for a very long time. A relationship with a girlfriend, most often, breaks up out of choice — the boy being dishonest with her girl, the boy not liking her new habits or friends, the boy being attracted to another girl, etc., and whatever be the reason for breaking up, they both feel emotional outbreaks, regret for being or not being in that relationship, and, in most cases, the regret turning into hatred, and, in some rare cases, the hatred turning into envy and vengeances, and then ultimately violence.
