boy
English Edit
Etymology Edit
From Middle English boy, boye (“servant, commoner, knave, boy”), from Old English *bōia (“boy”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōjō, from Proto-Germanic *bōjô (“younger brother, young male relation”), from Proto-Germanic *bō- (“brother, close male relation”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-, *bʰāt- (“father, elder brother, brother”).
Cognate with Scots boy (“boy”), West Frisian boai (“boy”), Dutch boi (“boy”), Low German Boi (“boy”), and probably to the Old English proper name Bōia. Also related to West Flemish boe (“brother”), Norwegian dialectal boa (“brother”), Dutch boef (“rogue, knave”), Bavarian Bua (“young boy, lad”), German Bube ("boy; knave; jack"; > English bub), Icelandic bófi (“rogue, crook, bandit, knave”). See also bully.
Pronunciation Edit
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: boi, IPA(key): /bɔɪ/
Audio (GA) (file) - (Southern American English) IPA(key): /bɔːə/
- Rhymes: -ɔɪ
Noun Edit
boy (countable and uncountable, plural boys)
- A young male human. [from 15th c.]
- Kate is dating a boy named Jim.
- 1440, Promptorium Parvulorum, section 35:
- Bye or boye: Bostio.
- 1535, Bible (Coverdale), Zechariah, Chapter VIII, Verse 5:
- 1711 March 7, Jonathan Swift, Journal, line 208:
- I find I was mistaken in the sex, 'tis a boy.
- 1812, Lord Byron, Childe Harold, Canto II, xxiii, 72:
- Ah! happy years! once more who would not be a boy?
- (particularly) A male child or adolescent, as distinguished from infants or adults.
- 1876, Frances Eliza Millett Notley, The Kiddle-a-Wink, "A Tale of Love", page 169:
- "He is not quite a baby, Alfred," said Ellen, "though he is only a big stupid boy. We have made him miserable enough. Let us leave him alone."
- 1876, Frances Eliza Millett Notley, The Kiddle-a-Wink, "A Tale of Love", page 169:
- (diminutive) A son of any age.
- 1805, Walter Scott, “(please specify the page)”, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, London: […] [James Ballantyne] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], and A[rchibald] Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:
- My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee.
- (endearing, diminutive) A male human younger than the speaker. [from 17th c.]
- (obsolete) A male of low station, (especially as pejorative) a worthless male, a wretch; a mean and dishonest male, a knave. [14th–17th c.]
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
- Dost thou call me fool, boy?
- (now rare and usually offensive outside some Commonwealth nations) A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee, [from 14th c.] particularly:
- 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 211:
- He allowed his ‘boy’ - an overfed young negro from the coast - to treat the white men, under his very eyes, with provoking insolence.
- 1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow, i, 37:
- ‘Why does he go out and pinch all his dogs in person? He's an administrator, isn't he? Wouldn't he hire a boy or something?’
‘We call them “staff”,’ Roger replies.
- A younger such worker.
- 1721, Penelope Aubin, The Life of Madam de Beaumount, ii, 36:
- I resolved to continue in the Cave, with my two Servants, my Maid, and a Boy, whom I had brought from France.
- (historical or offensive) A non-white male servant regardless of age, [from 17th c.] particularly as a form of address.
- 1625, W. Hawkins in Samuel Purchas, Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas his Pilgrimes, Vol. I, iii, vii, 211:
- My Boy Stephen Grauener.
- 1834, Edward Markham, New Zealand or Recollections of It, section 72:
- They picked out two of the strongest of the Boys (as they call the Men) about the place.
- 1876, Ebenezer Thorne, The Queen of the Colonies, or, Queensland as I Knew It[1], section 58:
- The blacks who work on a station or farm are always, like the blacks in the Southern States, called boys.
- 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 233:
- From a domestic point of view the advent of the Chinese was a decided blessing, for, instead of the European ladies of the settlement having to do all their own work, they were able to employ a proper staff of Chinese boys.
- 1907 May 13, Evening Post, N.Y, section 6:
- [In Shanghai,] The register clerk assigns you to a room, and instead of ‘Front!’ he shouts ‘Boy!’
- 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 521:
- He thrust his head into the aisle. "Boy!" A Chinese in a white coat responded listlessly. "What will you have? Beer?"
- 1960 February 5, Northern Territory News, 5/5:
- Aborigine Wally... described himself as ‘number one boy’ at the station.
- 1625, W. Hawkins in Samuel Purchas, Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas his Pilgrimes, Vol. I, iii, vii, 211:
- (obsolete) A male camp follower.
- 1572, Flavius Vegetius Renatus, translated by John Sadler, Foure Bookes... Contayninge a Plaine Forme, and Perfect Knowledge of Martiall Policye..., iii, vii:
- If any water be rough and boysterous, or the chanell verye broade, it manye times drowneth the carriages and the boyes and nowe and then slouthfull and lyther souldiours.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vii]:
- (now offensive) Any non-white male, regardless of age. [from 19th c.]
- 1812, Anne Plumptre translating Hinrich Lichtenstein, Travels in Southern Africa, in the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806, Vol. I, i, viii, 119:
- A Hottentot... expects to be called by his name if addressed by any one who knows it; and by those to whom it is not known he expects to be called Hottentot... or boy.
- 1888, Louis Diston Powles, Land of Pink Pearl, or Recollections of Life in the Bahamas, section 66:
- Every darky, however old, is a boy.
- 1973 September 8, Black Panther, 7/2:
- [In Alabama,] Guards still use the term ‘boy’ to refer to Black prisoners.
- 1979, Bert Newton, Mohammed Ali, The Logie Awards[2]:
- BN: [repeating a catchphrase] I like the boy.
MA: [to hostile audience] Hold it, hold it, hold it. Easy. Did you say ‘Roy’ or ‘boy’?
BN: ‘I like the boy’. There's nothing wrong with saying that... Hang on, hang on, hang on... I'll change religion, I'll do anything for ya, I don't bloody care... What's wrong with saying that? ‘I like the boy’?
MA: Boy...
BN: I mean, I like the man. I'm sorry, Muhammad.
- 1812, Anne Plumptre translating Hinrich Lichtenstein, Travels in Southern Africa, in the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806, Vol. I, i, viii, 119:
- A male non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a male dog. [from 15th c.]
- C'mere, boy! Good boy! Who's a good boy?
- Are you getting a boy cat or a girl cat?
- (historical, military) A former low rank of various armed services; a holder of this rank.
- 1841 May 6, Times, London, 5/4:
- Wounded... 1 Boy, 1st class, severely.
- 1963 April 30, Times, London, 16/2:
- He joined the Navy as a boy second class in 1898.
- (US, slang, uncountable) Heroin. [from 20th c.]
- 2021, Tim Weber, Heroin: the Ripple Effect:
- […] drove by a corner, saw what I thought—no, what I knew—were dealers and asked if they knew where I could get some boy.
- (somewhat childish) A male (tree, gene, etc).
- 1950, Pageant:
- Are there “boy” trees and “girl” trees? Yes. A number of species, among them the yew, holly and date-bearing palm, have their male and female flowers on different trees. The male holly, for instance, must be planted fairly close to the female ...
- 1970 [earlier 1963], Helen V. Wilson, Helen Van Pelt, Helen Van Pelt's African Violets, Dutton Adult (→ISBN):
- Of the 100 percent total, 25 will have two girl genes, 50 will have one boy and one girl gene, and 25 will have two boy genes.
Alternative forms Edit
Synonyms Edit
- (young male): See Thesaurus:boy
- (diminutive term of address to males): chap, guy, lad, mate
- (son): See son
- (male servant): manservant
- (disreputable man): brat, knave, squirt
- (heroin): See Thesaurus:heroin
Antonyms Edit
- (young male): See Thesaurus:girl
Derived terms Edit
- all-boys
- all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
- alphabet boy
- altar boy
- atta boy
- attaboy
- baby boy
- backroom boy
- bad boy
- bad-boy
- bag boy
- bagboy
- ball boy
- banjee boy
- barboy
- Barnardo's boy
- barra boy
- barrow boy
- barrow-boy
- Barry boy
- bat boy
- batty boy
- B-boy
- b-boy
- bellboy
- bell boy
- bendy-boy
- best boy
- big boy
- big-boy pants
- big boy pants
- big boys
- big boys
- birthday boy
- black boy
- blackboy
- blue-eyed boy
- boat boy
- boi
- bonfire boy
- boot boy
- boot-boy
- boss boy
- bovver boy
- box boy
- boy band
- boy-bishop
- boy bishop
- boy bits
- boy crazy
- boy-crazy
- boy cunt
- boy-cunt
- boy-cut
- boyfriend
- boy-friend
- boy friend
- boy-girl
- boy hole
- boyhood
- boy howdy
- boy in blue
- boy in buttons
- boy in the boat
- boyish
- boyism
- boy juice
- boykin
- boylove
- boylover
- boyly
- boy meets girl
- boy-meets-girl
- boy next door
- boy-next-door
- boy oh boy
- boy or girl paradox
- boy parts
- boy pussy
- boy racer
- boys and girls
- boys and girls
- boys and their toys
- boys and their toys
- Boy Scout
- boy scout
- boy-short
- boy shorts
- boy-shorts
- boys of summer
- boys will be boys
- boys will be boys
- boytjie
- boy-toy
- boy toy
- boy wonder
- breaker boy
- broth of a boy
- bubble boy disease
- bubble boy syndrome
- buddy boy
- bug boy
- bully-boy
- bully boy
- bum boy
- busboy
- business boy
- butcher boy
- cabana boy
- cabin boy
- cabin-boy
- cake boy
- call boy
- call-boy
- callboy
- cash boy
- CC boy
- charity boy
- Chelsea boy
- cherry boy
- chick boy
- choirboy
- choir boy
- city boy
- climbing boy
- college boy
- copy boy
- corner boy
- cowboy
- day boy
- dayboy
- delivery boy
- dolly-boy
- dough boy
- doughboy
- Dutch boy
- e-boy
- every good boy deserves fudge
- fag boy
- fag-boy
- fair-haired boy
- farm boy
- flyboy
- fly-boy
- frat boy
- friend boy
- fuck boy
- fuck-boy
- garden boy
- gay boy
- gay tyke boy
- girl-boy
- God boy
- golden boy
- golden shower boy
- good ol' boy
- good old boy
- good old boy network
- good ole boy
- grease boy
- haut-boy
- hawk boy
- head boy
- hod boy
- homeboy
- hoo-boy
- hoo boy
- hopper boy
- horse boy
- house-boy
- house boy
- houseboy
- It boy
- jack boy
- jack-boy
- Jewboy
- jobs for the boys
- jolly boy
- kept boy
- knife-boy
- lady boy
- lawnboy
- liftboy
- link boy
- little boy
- little boys room
- loblolly boy
- loverboy
- lover boy
- lowboy
- mama's boy
- mamma's boy
- man and boy
- man-boy
- M and M boys
- momma's boy
- monkey boy
- mummy's boy
- muscle boy
- my boy
- nancy boy
- newsboy
- office boy
- oh boy
- old boy
- old-boy network
- old boy network
- our boy
- pageboy
- page boy
- paperboy
- party boy
- peg boy
- Perry boy
- pick-me boy
- pizza boy
- po' boy
- pool boy
- poor boy
- post boy
- poster boy
- potboy
- pot boy
- pretty boy
- principal boy
- pull-up boy
- pussy-boy
- rent boy
- roaring boy
- rude boy
- rugby boy
- saga boy
- sailor boy
- salesboy
- schoolboy
- sea boy
- send a boy to do a man's job
- shag-boy
- shamba boy
- shoeshine boy
- shopboy
- showboy
- since Adam was an oakum boy
- since Adam was an oakum boy in Chatham Dockyard
- slaveboy
- soap boy
- soft boy
- sonny boy
- soy boy
- stable-boy
- stableboy
- stable boy
- starboy
- stick boy
- stock-boy
- stock boy
- suck-boy
- tallboy
- t-boy
- Teddy boy
- teddy boy
- telegraph boy
- tomboy
- tom boy
- ton-up boy
- toy-boy
- toy boy
- traffic boy
- valley boy
- water boy
- wet boy
- when Adam was an oakum boy
- when Adam was an oakum boy in Chatham Dockyard
- whipping boy
- white boy
- whiteboy
- who's a pretty boy then
- wide boy
- wolf boy
- wonderboy
- ya boy
- Yahoo boy
- yellow boy
- Yellow Boy
- your boy
Descendants Edit
Translations Edit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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Interjection Edit
boy
- Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.
- Boy, that was close!
- Boy, that tastes good!
- Boy, I wish I could go to Canada!
- 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:
- Time is running out, so I renounce a spin on a Class 387 for a fast run to Paddington on another Class 800 - a shame as the weather was perfect for pictures. Even so, it's enjoyable - boy, can those trains shift under the wires.
Related terms Edit
Translations Edit
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Verb Edit
boy (third-person singular simple present boys, present participle boying, simple past and past participle boyed)
- (transitive) To act as a boy (in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage).
- c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
- I shall see some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness.
Coordinate terms Edit
References Edit
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
Anagrams Edit
Azerbaijani Edit
Cyrillic | бој | |
---|---|---|
Perso-Arabic | بوْی |
Etymology Edit
From Proto-Turkic *bod (“body, stature; self; kin, tribe, etc”).
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy (definite accusative boyu, plural boylar)
Declension Edit
Declension of boy | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | plural | |||||||
nominative | boy |
boylar | ||||||
definite accusative | boyu |
boyları | ||||||
dative | boya |
boylara | ||||||
locative | boyda |
boylarda | ||||||
ablative | boydan |
boylardan | ||||||
definite genitive | boyun |
boyların |
Derived terms Edit
Further reading Edit
- “boy” in Obastan.com.
Cebuano Edit
Etymology Edit
Noun Edit
boy
Synonyms Edit
Chibcha Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy
- Alternative form of boi
References Edit
- Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.
Chinese Edit
Etymology Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) The name of the Latin-script letter B.
See also Edit
Dutch Edit
Etymology Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy m (plural boys, diminutive boytje n)
- (historical, now offensive) a male domestic servant, especially one with a darker skin in a colony
- (informal) boy, young man
- Ik vind die Roy echt een rare boy. ― I think this Roy is really a strange young man.
See also Edit
French Edit
Etymology Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy m (plural boys)
- (now historical, offensive) boy (non-white male servant)
- 1930, André Malraux, La Voie royale:
- Claude allait l’ouvrir mais le ton sur lequel le délégué appelait son boy lui fit lever la tête : l’auto attendait, bleue sous l’ampoule de la porte; le boy, qui s’était écarté – en voyant arriver le délégué sans doute – se rapprochait, hésitant.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Further reading Edit
- “boy”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Hungarian Edit
Etymology Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy (plural boyok)
- A young male servant, low-position assistant.
- bellboy (in a hotel)
- Synonym: londiner
- office boy, errand boy, deliveryman
- bellboy (in a hotel)
- (dated) A male ballet dancer.
Declension Edit
Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | boy | boyok |
accusative | boyt | boyokat |
dative | boynak | boyoknak |
instrumental | boyjal | boyokkal |
causal-final | boyért | boyokért |
translative | boyjá | boyokká |
terminative | boyig | boyokig |
essive-formal | boyként | boyokként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | boyban | boyokban |
superessive | boyon | boyokon |
adessive | boynál | boyoknál |
illative | boyba | boyokba |
sublative | boyra | boyokra |
allative | boyhoz | boyokhoz |
elative | boyból | boyokból |
delative | boyról | boyokról |
ablative | boytól | boyoktól |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
boyé | boyoké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
boyéi | boyokéi |
Possessive forms of boy | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | boyom | boyaim |
2nd person sing. | boyod | boyaid |
3rd person sing. | boya | boyai |
1st person plural | boyunk | boyaink |
2nd person plural | boyotok | boyaitok |
3rd person plural | boyuk | boyaik |
Derived terms Edit
See also Edit
Further reading Edit
- boy in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2023)
Italian Edit
Etymology Edit
Pseudo-anglicism. In the sense "bellboy", a clipping of English bellboy; in other meanings, a transferred sense of English boy.
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy m (plural boys)
References Edit
- ^ boy in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
Further reading Edit
- boy in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Ladino Edit
Etymology Edit
From Turkish boy (“stature, size”).
Noun Edit
boy m (Latin spelling)
Middle English Edit
Noun Edit
boy (plural boys)
- Alternative spelling of boye
Polish Edit
Etymology Edit
Unadapted borrowing from English boy, from Middle English boy, boye, from Old English *bōia, from Proto-West Germanic *bōjō, from Proto-Germanic *bōjô, from *bō-, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-, *bʰāt-.
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy m pers
- bellboy, office boy
- Synonym: garson
Declension Edit
Further reading Edit
Portuguese Edit
Etymology 1 Edit
Ellipsis of office boy, from English office boy.
Alternative forms Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy m (plural boys)
- office boy
- (Brazil, slang) a young, upper-class male
Synonyms Edit
- (office boy): office boy
- (rich young man): mauricinho
Etymology 2 Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy m (plural boys)
- Obsolete spelling of boi
Salar Edit
Etymology Edit
From Proto-Turkic *bȫg.
Pronunciation Edit
- (Jiezi, Gaizi, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [poiʲ], [pojɨ]
- (Xunhua, Hualong, Qinghai, Yining, Xinjiang) IPA(key): /poj/
Noun Edit
boy
References Edit
- Potanin, G.N. (1893), “boy”, in Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголия (in Russian)
- Kakuk, S. (1962). “Un Vocabulaire Salar.” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 14, no. 2: 173–96. [3]
- Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “boy”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, pages 451-452
- 林 (Lin), 莲云 (Lianyun) (1985), “boy”, in 撒拉语简志 [A Brief History of Salar], Beijing: 民族出版社: 琴書店, →OCLC, page 121
- Ma, Chengjun; Han, Lianye; Ma, Weisheng (December 2010), “boy”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary], 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 50
- 马伟 (Ma Wei), 朝克 (Chao Ke) (2016), “boy”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages - Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 国家社会科学基金项目 (National Social Science Foundation Project), page 265
Spanish Edit
Etymology Edit
Pseudo-anglicism, derived from boy.
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy m (plural boys)
Further reading Edit
- “boy”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Sranan Tongo Edit
Noun Edit
boy
- Alternative form of boi (official spelling)
Tagalog Edit
Etymology Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
boy
- (colloquial) errand boy; houseboy; boy doing a menial job (usually young)
Derived terms Edit
Turkish Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Etymology 1 Edit
From Proto-Turkic *bod. See dialectal bodur (“stout, short”).
Noun Edit
boy (definite accusative boyu, plural boylar)
- stature
- Boyun ne kadar? ― How tall are you? (lit. "How much is your stature?")
- size
- küçük boy ― small size
Derived terms Edit
Etymology 2 Edit
Noun Edit
boy (definite accusative boyu, plural boylar)
Declension Edit
Inflection | ||
---|---|---|
Nominative | boy | |
Definite accusative | boyu | |
Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | boy | boylar |
Definite accusative | boyu | boyları |
Dative | boya | boylara |
Locative | boyda | boylarda |
Ablative | boydan | boylardan |
Genitive | boyun | boyların |
Etymology 3 Edit
From Ottoman Turkish بوی (boy).
Noun Edit
boy
References Edit
- Clauson, Gerard (1972) An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 384b
- Eren, Hasan (1999), “boy”, in Türk Dilinin Etimolojik Sözlüğü [Etymological Dictionary of the Turkish Language] (in Turkish), Ankara: Bizim Büro Basım Evi, page 59a