noun
Archaic term for a young girl or one's own daughter; not used in modern everyday speech.
古い物語では、娘子が旅に出る話がよくある。
In old tales, stories of a young girl setting out on a journey are common.
noun
Archaic respectful term for a woman or lady; now largely replaced by 女性 or 婦人.
その娘子は大変美しいと古文書に記されている。
The ancient document records that the lady was very beautiful.
noun
Archaic term for someone else's wife; modern Japanese uses 奥さん or 妻.
彼の娘子は琴の名手であったという。
It is said that his wife was a master of the koto.
The exact derivation is uncertain; the kanji 娘 (daughter/girl) and 嬢 (young lady) combined with 子 (child) suggest an old compound referring to a young female, later extended to mean woman or wife.