Pronunciation Noun
boy
- A young male. [from 15th c.]
- Kate is dating a boy named Jim.
- 1440, Promptorium Parvulorum, 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 teenager, 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 male child: a son of any age.
- 1805, Walter Scott, The Lay of the Last Minstrel:
- My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee.
- (affectionate, diminutive) A male of any age, particularly one rather 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.]
- 1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act I Scene 4:
- Dost thou call me fool, boy?
- 1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act I Scene 4:
- (now, rare and usually, offensive outside some Commonwealth nations) A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee, [from 14th c.] particularly:
- circa 1300 King Horn, line 1075:
- 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.
- ‘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?’
- 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.
- 1721, Penelope Aubin, The Life of Madam de Beaumount, ii, 36:
- (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, 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 ↗, 58:
- The blacks who work on a station or farm are always, like the blacks in the Southern States, called boys.
- 1907 May 13, N.Y. Evening Post, 6:
- [In Shanghai,] The register clerk assigns you to a room, and instead of ‘Front!’ he shouts ‘Boy!’
- 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, John Sadler translating Flavius Vegetius Renatus, 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.
- 1600, William Shakespeare, The Cronicle History of Henry the Fift..., Act IV, Scene vii, 1:
- 1572, John Sadler translating Flavius Vegetius Renatus, Foure Bookes... Contayninge a Plaine Forme, and Perfect Knowledge of Martiall Policye..., iii, 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, 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 and Mohammed Ali, The Logie Awards ↗:
- 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.
- BN: [repeating a catchphrase] I like the boy.
- 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 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 in London, 5/4:
- Wounded... 1 Boy, 1st class, severely.
- 1963 April 30, Times in London, 16/2:
- He joined the Navy as a boy second class in 1898.
- 1841 May 6, Times in London, 5/4:
- (US, slang, uncountable) Heroin. [from 20th c.]
- (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 9780801538582):
- 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.
- 1950, Pageant:
- (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
- (young male) See Thesaurus:girl
- French: garçon
- German: Junge, Knabe, Bube
- Italian: bambino child; ragazzino teenager; ragazzo young man, maschietto, maschio
- Portuguese: garoto, menino, moço, rapaz, mancebo, puto, miúdo (Portugal)
- Russian: ма́льчик
- Spanish: niño child, chico (teens or twenties), muchacho (teens or twenties), chaval (slang), varón, gender specification: boy or girl? ¿varón o mujer?
- French: garçon, boy (formerly, African male servant in colonies)
- German: Knappe, Boy
- Italian: ragazzo
- Portuguese: criado
- Russian: слуга́
- French: boy
- Italian: negro
- Russian: черноко́жий
- French: gars (informal)
- German: Junge, Bursche, Kerl
- Italian: ragazzo
- Portuguese: rapaz, moço
- Russian: мужчи́на
- French: garçon, gars
- German: Jungs
- Italian: ragazzi
- Portuguese: garotos, meninos (all mostly said by female speakers), rapaziada (mostly said by male speakers), rapazes, turma, galera, meninada
- Russian: ребя́та
- Portuguese: garotão
- Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.
- Boy, that was close!
- Boy, that tastes good!
- Boy, I wish I could go to Canada!
- Portuguese: puxa
- Russian: блин
boy (boys, present participle boying; past and past participle boyed)
- To use the word “boy” to refer to someone.
- Don't boy me!
- (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: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act V, scene ii]:
- I shall see some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness.
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