Reference
Glossary
Words used in Guiding, past and present, with their variants, where they were used, and when.
- Brown Owl
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The traditional name for the leader of a Brownie unit, still used by some volunteers. Assistants took other owl names, such as Tawny Owl.
- Commissioner
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A volunteer with oversight of units across a geographical area such as a district, division or county.
- Enrolment
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The ceremony at which a member makes the Promise and receives a badge.
See also: Promise
- Extension Guiding
-
Historic provision for disabled and chronically ill girls, including units in hospitals and residential homes, and (according to enthusiasts' histories, not yet confirmed from records) units for housebound girls that met by letter.
Note: Period sources use language about disability now regarded as offensive; quote it only in context.
- Girl Scout
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What girls in early British patrols called themselves in 1908–09, before the Guide scheme. The American organisation, founded as Girl Guides in 1912, took the name Girl Scouts in 1913; several national organisations use it today.
See also: Guide
- Good Turn
-
A small act of help to others done without reward, part of the everyday ethic of service.
- Guide
-
A member of the main Guiding section. In the UK today, Guides are aged 10–14. The name came from the Corps of Guides, a regiment on the North-West Frontier of British India, which Robert Baden-Powell praised for its "handiness and resourcefulness".
Note: The name's military and imperial origin is part of its history, not a hidden footnote.
See also: Girl Scout, Guiding
- Guide International Service
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A scheme set up in April 1942 to select and train volunteers for relief work after the Second World War. Its teams served from 1945 in Greece, the Netherlands, Germany, Egypt and Malaya.
- Guide Law
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A short set of principles members agree to follow. The original had ten clauses; it has been revised several times.
See also: Promise
- Guider
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An adult volunteer leader. Titles such as Captain and Lieutenant are widely remembered for Guide companies; we are confirming them and their dates against rules editions.
See also: Brown Owl, Commissioner
- Guiding
-
The movement and its activities as a whole. "Girlguiding" (one word) has been the operating name of the UK organisation since 2013; this site uses "Guiding" for the movement.
- Patrol
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A small group of Guides (today usually four to eight) led by one of the girls themselves. The basic unit of peer leadership in Guiding.
See also: Patrol Leader, Six
- Patrol Leader
-
A Guide nominated by her patrol to lead it, with a Patrol Second as her deputy.
See also: Patrol
- Promise
-
The commitment members are invited to make when they feel ready. Its wording varies by country and changed twelve times in the UK between 1910 and 2013, notably in 1994 and 2013.
- Ranger
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A member of the oldest UK youth section, aged 14–18 today. The section began as Senior Guides in 1916, became Rangers in 1920, and has had several names since.
- Six
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A small group within a Brownie unit, led by a Sixer with a Second as deputy. Six names traditionally drew on folklore, with gnomes, pixies, elves, imps, sprites and kelpies among them. Animal names are said to have been added in the 2000s, but that date is not yet confirmed.
- Trefoil
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The three-leafed emblem of Guiding. The three leaves are usually explained as standing for the three parts of the Promise; we understand WAGGGS gives this explanation, but have not yet confirmed its current wording.
See also: Promise
- Unit
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A local group of one section. Older usage called a Guide unit a "company" and a Brownie unit a "pack".
- WAGGGS
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The world association of national Guide and Girl Scout organisations, founded in 1928.
See also: World Centre
- World Centre
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A WAGGGS centre for international gatherings and training. There are five: Our Chalet (Switzerland), Our Cabaña or Nuestra Cabaña (Mexico), Pax Lodge (UK), Sangam (India) and Kusafiri (Africa Region).
- World Thinking Day
-
An annual day on 22 February, the shared birthday of Robert and Olave Baden-Powell, chosen at the Fourth International Conference in 1926 (these became World Conferences in 1928). Fundraising was added from 1932, and the name became World Thinking Day in 1999, according to both WAGGGS and Girlguiding.
See also: WAGGGS