A young female employee in a shop or business who handles cash, collects payments, and delivers change to customers.
Compound of 'cash' and 'girl,' paralleling 'cashboy.' Emerged in late 19th-century retail as stores began employing young women for cash-handling roles.
Cashgirls were among the first 'respectable' retail jobs for working-class women in Victorian Britain—handling money was considered trustworthy work, making it one of the earliest paths to female employment outside domestic service.
Cashgirl is explicitly feminized, designating young female retail workers; this gendered term reflects 19th-20th century stratification where 'cashgirls' were paid less than male counterparts and had limited advancement.
Avoid entirely in contemporary contexts. Use only when referencing historical occupational records or literary references.
["cashier","cash handler","retail associate"]
Cashgirls were foundational to retail modernization but systematically undercompensated and invisible in business histories; their labor subsidized profit margins through gender-based wage discrimination.
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