pŭella, ae (dat. and abl. plur. puellabus, Cn. Gell. ap. Charis. p. 39 P.), f. [puellus], a female child, a girl, maiden, lass.
I Lit.
A In gen.: eam nunc puellam filiam ejus quaerimus, Plaut. Cist. 2, 3, 77: puellam parere, Ter. Heaut. 627: parvola puella, id. Eun. 109: puella infans, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 99: pueri atque puellae, id. S. 1, 1, 85; 2, 3, 130; Cic. Att. 1, 5, 6: audi, Luna, puellas, Hor. C. S. 36: puellarum chorus, id. C. 2, 5, 21: pueri innuptaeque puellae, Verg. A. 6, 307.—
B In partic.
1 A beloved maiden , a sweetheart , mistress (poet.): vixi puellis nuper idoneus, Hor. C. 3, 26, 1: proditor puellae risus ab angulo, id. ib. 1, 9, 22: mendax, id. S. 1, 5, 82: cara, id. Ep. 1, 18, 74: blanda, Ov. Am. 2, 2, 34; Mart. 10, 109, 3 al.—Transf., in jest, of a kitten , Mart. 1, 109, 16.—*
2 A daughter : Danai puellae, Hor. C. 3, 11, 23.—
II Transf., in gen., a young female , young woman , young wife (poet. and in post-Aug. prose): puellae Jam virum expertes, Hor. C. 3, 14, 10: laborantes utero puellae, id. ib. 3, 22, 2: viduae cessate puellae, Ov. F. 2, 557. So of Penelope, who was married, Ov. H. 1, 115; of Antiope, Prop. 3, 13 (4, 14), 21; 34; of Phaedra, Ov. H. 4, 2; of Helen, id. A. A. 1, 54 al.; of the wife of a second husband, Stat. S. 1, 2, 163; of Servilia, wife of the exiled Pollio, Tac. A. 16, 30; of Octavia, wife of Nero, id. ib. 14, 64; cf. Gell. 12, 1, 4.—
B A female slave (very rare), Hor. C. 4, 11, 10.