The word "小姐" is formed by combining two individual characters: "小" (xiǎo), meaning "small" or "young", and "姐" (jiě), meaning "older sister". Historically, this compound literally denoted a "young lady" of a household, specifically a younger, unmarried daughter, with "姐" reflecting a term of respect for a female. Over centuries, its usage evolved as a polite term of address for young women, akin to "Miss", with its meaning shaped entirely by social convention rather than grammatical rules, though in recent decades it has also acquired an ambiguous, sometimes negative connotation in certain contexts.