boy

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A male child.
2. (countable, uncountable) A young man.
3. (countable, diminutive, especially, uncountable) A son of any age.
4. (countable, diminutive, endearing, uncountable) A male human younger than the speaker.
5. (countable, derogatory, informal, mildly, sometimes, uncountable) A male human of any age, as opposed to a "girl" (female human of any age).
6. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A male of low station, (especially as pejorative) a worthless male, a wretch; a mean and dishonest male, a knave.
7. (countable, uncountable) A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee, particularly
8. (countable, uncountable) A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee
9. (countable, historical, offensive, uncountable) A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee
10. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee
11. (countable, offensive, uncountable) Any non-white male, regardless of age.
12. (countable, especially, informal, uncountable) A male friend.
13. (countable, uncountable) A male submissive.
14. (countable, uncountable) A male non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a male pet, especially a dog.
15. (countable, historical, uncountable) A former low rank of various armed services; a holder of this rank.
16. (US, slang, uncountable) Heroin.
17. (childish, countable, uncountable) A male (tree, gene, etc).
18. (colloquial, countable, endearing, uncountable) Any tangible object close to one's person; often used in emphatic forms such as bad boy.

Intj

Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.

Verb

To act as a boy (in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage).

Synonyms

lad

son

child

🧒

youth

man

👨

young man

male child

servant

guy

male

♂️

girl

👧

laddie

kid

🧒

youngster

chap

baby

👶

adolescent

stripling

fella

bloke

daughter

urchin

young

oh

little boy

fellow

teenager

dude

adolescent boy

boys

children

young person

young fellow

younker

young male

toddler

sonny

pupil

greenhorn

person

🧑‍🦱

nipper

feller

brother

👨‍👦

knave

page

young boy

dual

boyo

dog

🐕

descendant

Translations

garçon

👦

Junge

👦

ragazzo

👦

muchacho

👦

chico

jongen

👦

niño

🧒

Knabe

αγόρι

menino

👦

bambino

🧒

παιδί

noi

👦

puer

🧒

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bɔɪ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: boy//boye

Inherited from Old English: *bōia

Cognate with Scots: boy

Cognate with Western Frisian: boai

Cognate with Dutch: boi

Cognate with Low German: Boi

Cognate with Old English: -

Cognate with West Flemish: boe

Cognate with Norwegian: -

Cognate with Dutch: boef

Cognate with Bavarian: Bua

Cognate with German: Bube

Cognate with Icelandic: bófi

In summary

Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *bōjō
Old English *bōia
Middle English boye
English boy
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.

Sentences

But the boy never took his eye off his new friend .

The old man returned the book to the boy .

The next day , the boy returned to the well , hoping to see the girl .

" I can clean up those glasses in the window , if you want ," said the boy .

Looking down at the spoon he held , the boy saw that the oil was gone .

He was the ninth child and the first boy after eight girls .