girls

Greetings, All!

To promote e-flow <g>, please allow me to ask a question that has
been on my mind for some time now. Is there an I-E or P-I-E word for
"girl"? In the majority of I-E languages which I know or at least know
of, there is no specific word for "girl," but either diminutive forms of
"woman" (such as the German "maedchen" and "fraeuline"), or feminine
forms of words for "boy" (Spanish "chica" "muchacha"; Latin "puella"), or
the term for daughter (French "jeune fille"). Only English ("girl"),
Greek ("kore") and possibly Irish ("colleen") seem to have words which
specifically refer to a young woman. By contrast, all of these languages
have specific words for "boy": garcon, knabe, bube, puer, etc...
So, is there an I-E form for "girl," and if not, where does the
English word come from? Also, if not, does this perhaps contribute to
the idea of the I-Es as somewhat patriarchal? I remember reading a while
back that the Iroquois, a matrifocal society, had several words for "girl"
and "woman," but none for "boy."

Many Thanks!
Stephanie L. Budin
University of Pennsylvania