See Also:

boy(1) (iou)



boy noun. ME.
[Perh. rel. to Old English Boia, Boja, Old High German Buobo male personal names, Middle High German buobe boy; cf. also Frisian boi boy.]
A male servant, an underling, esp. a young one; a helper, a messenger. obsolete exc. as in sense 1b or when a boy in sense 4. ME.
button-boy, page-boy, shop-boy, etc.
Bible (Coverdale): 1 Samuel 2:13 The prestes boye came, whyle the flesh was seething. P. Lovesey Newspaper-boys..bawled their wares.
b. A servant or labourer from an indigenous people in Africa, Asia, etc. Now freq. considered offensive. E17.
A male person of lowly status, a common fellow; a worthless fellow, a knave. ME-E17.
Shakespeare Coriolanus Name not the god, thou boy of tears..no more.
(Affectionately, playfully, or slightingly.) A young man, a fellow; a man belonging to some specified or understood group (as one's habitual companions, a team, a gang, the army, etc.). Freq. as a familiar form of address. LME.
Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing If thou kill'st me, boy, thou shalt kill a man. Spectator The public relations boys could really go to town. J. le Carre It was just like old times..in Berlin: the boys together and the night their oyster. I. F. Elis 'That's all right, my boy', said the officer, forgetting..that Wil was several years his senior. G. Charles 'You boys can take me in the van', Polly said to the two sound men and his own assistant.
b. A familiar form of address to a male dog, horse, or other animal. LME.
c. A man of any age. dial. (esp. Anglo-Irish). M18.
A male child; a youth. Also, a grown-up son. LME.
Byron Ah! happy years! once more who would not be a boy? Arnold Bennett Edwin had left school; and, if he was not a man, he was certainly not a boy. E. Waugh That..was Lord Sebastian Flyte...The Marquis of Marchmain's second boy. P. G. Wodehouse I tried to tell him that boys will be boys and you're only young once.
As interjection. An exclamation of surprise, excitement, relief, etc. Freq. oh boy! Orig. US. E20.
Phrases: backroom boy: see BACK-. be a big boy (now): see BIG adjective 3b. best boy: see BEST adjective etc. Boys' Brigade a boys' organization resembling the Scouts, connected with Presbyterian and Nonconformist churches. boys in blue: see BLUE noun 2. BROTH of a boy. home boy: see HOME adjective. jobs for the boys preferment for one's supporters or favourites. man and boy: see MAN noun. mother's boy: see MOTHER noun1. naked boys: see NAKED adjective. old boy: see OLD adjective. one of the boys a man who conforms to the behaviour of his companions, a good fellow. principal boy: see PRINCIPAL adjective. SKOLLY boy. sort out the men from the boys: see MAN noun. the boy arch. slang champagne. the boy next door: see NEXT adjective. white-headed boy: see WHITE adjective. wide boy: see WIDE adjective.
Comb.: boyfriend a girl's or (esp. unmarried) woman's, or a homosexual man's, usual or preferred male companion or sexual partner; boy-meets-girl a conventional or ideal romance (freq. attrib.); boy racer a young man who is fond of driving fast and aggressively in high-powered cars; Boy Scout: see SCOUT noun3 2c; boy's-love southernwood, Artemisia abrotanum; boys' play arch. amusement for boys, child's play; boy toy colloq., derog. (a) a young woman considered sexually attractive to young men; (b) a young man considered sexually attractive to women; boy wonder an exceptionally talented young man or boy.
? It is not clear which is the earliest English meaning. However, sense 4, 'male child', is predominant and colours all other senses.
boyhood noun (a) the state of being a boy; the time when one is a boy; (b) boys collectively: M18.
boyish adjective of or pertaining to boys or boyhood; boylike, high-spirited: M16.
boyishly adverb L16.
boyishness noun M16.
boyism noun (now rare) a boyish characteristic; boyish character: E18.
boykin(s) noun (arch.) a small boy (esp. as an affectionate form of address) M16.
boylike adverb & adjective characteristic(ally) of a boy or boys M19.