What does workgirl mean?
Workgirl is chiefly a label for a young woman doing office or clerical work, especially a secretary or typist. In older, informal English, especially around theater and entertainment districts, it could also serve as a euphemistic term for a woman who exchanges sexual services for payment. The ordinary office sense is not restricted to one English-speaking region, but it sounds distinctly dated in most modern contexts. Although the word remains understandable and occasionally appears in writing about older workplaces, alternatives such as office worker or administrative assistant are usually more natural today. Because girl originally suggested youth and the compound developed within a strongly gendered office culture, workgirl can also carry a faintly patronizing or stereotypical undertone. Its historical interest lies in how efficiently it captures a vanished occupational world: typewriters, filing systems, junior employees, and the assumption that such jobs were naturally women's work. It is therefore best understood chiefly as a historical or mildly nostalgic label rather than a neutral modern job title.
A young woman employed in office or clerical work, especially in a junior, secretarial, or typing role.
"The advertisement described the successful candidate as a workgirl with shorthand and typing experience."
This is the principal modern sense, though the expression now sounds dated in many contexts.
A woman who provides sexual services for payment.
"The novel used the old slang term for a woman working in the theater district."
A dated and informal euphemistic sense, chiefly encountered in older writing and historical descriptions.
The regular plural refers to multiple female office or clerical workers.
"Several workgirls shared the office's single photocopying machine."
One word carries two eras: a junior office worker in one sense, and an old euphemism for a sex worker in another.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of workgirl
Workgirl is an English compound of work and girl. Work descends from a Germanic root meaning toil or labor, while girl comes from a Germanic word for a young woman; related forms include worker and working. The compound was used for a young female office employee and was later also employed euphemistically for a prostitute, although the precise date of its first attestation is uncertain.
How workgirl is actually used
The office sense is understood in both British and American English but sounds dated and can be mildly patronizing in contemporary use. Because it specifically characterizes a woman as a young employee, the term may also carry a stereotypical implication that office work was naturally women's work.
Easily confused with workgirl
Working girl can be a broad label for any woman who works and, in dated usage, a sex worker; workgirl in its office sense specifically denotes a young female clerical employee.