Plural of cowgirl; female ranch workers who herd cattle and perform ranch duties, particularly in the American West.
From 'cow' plus 'girl', a 19th-century American term that emerged as women increasingly participated in ranch work in the western frontier. It paralleled the already-established 'cowboy' but with gender-specific terminology.
The term 'cowgirl' is surprisingly recent—it wasn't widely used until the late 1800s, yet women had been herding cattle and doing ranch work for centuries before getting a proper name for it!
Cowgirl entered English in the 1880s as the feminized parallel to 'cowboy,' emerging during era when women's participation in ranching and rodeo was actively minimized in historical narratives. The term still carries subtle implications of novelty or spectacle versus the unmarked, 'default' status of 'cowboy.'
Use 'cowgirl' when accurate to the specific person or historical context; recognize it as equally legitimate to 'cowboy' without needing to explain or diminish women's range of work.
["cowperson","ranch worker","rodeo performer","bronc rider"]
Women like Lucille Mulhall (1880–1940) and later rodeo stars were foundational to Wild West shows and ranching, yet are rarely named alongside male counterparts in popular history.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.