The quality or state of being girllike; resemblance to or characteristics of a girl.
From 'girllike' (girl + -like) plus '-ness' (Old English '-nes', forming abstract nouns from adjectives). The '-ness' suffix became the standard way to nominalize adjectives in English by the Middle English period.
Girllikeness is a double-derived word—it starts with 'girl,' adds '-like' to make an adjective, then adds '-ness' to turn it back into a noun! This layering of suffixes shows how English recycles its building blocks to create new meanings; we could theoretically create 'boylikeness,' 'doglikeness,' or 'starlikeness' using the same recipe.
Abstract noun form of 'girllike' — compounds the essentialism by treating gender-stereotyped traits as a unified quality inherent to girls.
Avoid. Name the specific quality you mean (e.g., 'playfulness', 'youthfulness') rather than invoking a gendered essence.
["youthfulness","expressiveness","gentleness"]
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