tomboy

Meaning

1. A girl who behaves in a typically boyish manner.
2. (obsolete) A rude, boisterous boy.
3. (obsolete) An immodest or bold woman.
4. (Philippines, colloquial) A butch lesbian.

Opposite of

girly girl, macho man, janegirl

Synonyms

hoyden

romp

madcap

repercussions

spitfire

teeny-bopper

terror

bobbysoxer

bobby soxer

rash person

pert girl

girl with “attitude”

flapper

lively minx

rebounding

recovery

Translations

garçon manqué

Wildfang

αγοροκόριτσο

marimacho

maschiaccio

Range

garçonne

marimacha

maria-rapaz

ragazza indiavolata

Burschikosität

Lesbe

Tomboy

kleine Wilde

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtɒm.bɔɪ/

Etymology

From tom + boy. First attested in Ralph Roister Doister (published 1567, written circa 1552), where it is used to describe a boisterous girl; the OED says the citation is however "generally taken" to mean a boisterous boy, and says that a use in The Old Law (published 1656, thought to have been written circa 1599) "certainly" means a boy: "must young court-tits / play tomboys' tricks with her?" By 1579 it was attested in the meaning "an immodest woman", and by no later than 1592 it had developed its modern meaning of a “girl who acts like a boy”.