On Google translate, I saw so many words which mean girl. Could you tell me the difference and relation between these words?
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3Have you tried using a dictionary like Lewis and Short instead of Google Translate? Google Translate is not good. – cmw Feb 04 '23 at 15:57
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@cmw I'm not professional enough to use a Latin dictionary. – zzzgoo Feb 05 '23 at 03:21
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1@zzzgoo I disagree! They don't require you to know any Latin. We have a long list of online Latin dictionaries, and trying out a couple of them should lead you to a tool that you're comfortable using. – Joonas Ilmavirta Feb 05 '23 at 21:44
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Good question. Please first note that your primary source should be a Latin dictionary. As a French guy I use Le Gaffiot, but of course there are others.
Some of the words you mention are very rare, such as pusa. Likewise, puera, although possibly a historical derivate, is definitely not the dominating form. Puella is the correct feminine form of puer and means "young girl". This is the word you want to use in the general case.
Juvenca and juvencula on the one hand, femina and femella on the other hand, seem more informal, as they are not reserved to human girls or women but may apply to animals such as cows. The notion of youth is only present in the first pair through the root juv-.
Virgo on the contrary, applies to a young virgin and may convey the idea of unsoiled, immaculate, the notion of purity, especially when referring to vestals.
Pupa and pupilla, for their part, both specifically refer to a little girl, a child.
The diminutive forms generally add an affectionate connotation.
My answer should be completed with genuine quotes but here you still get an overview, which is a better start than Google Translate.
Vincent Krebs
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