# boy

Pronunciation: say "BOY" /bɔɪ/

## Noun

1. A male child.
   - Simple: A child who is male.
   - _A boy of about seven asked the librarian for dinosaur books._
   - _The pediatrician's waiting room was full of boys with soccer-season injuries._
2. A young man, or any male thought of as young, especially by someone older (You're still a boy to me).
   - Simple: A young man, or a man that an older person still thinks of as young.
   - _He left for the city at eighteen, a boy with one suitcase and big plans._
   - _Local boys home from college filled the beach town every summer._
3. A male of any age, in the casual usage that likewise calls women of any age girls. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A man or male person of any age, just as 'girl' can mean a female of any age.
   - _At the retirees' square dance, each boy bows to the girl across from him._
   - _The office pickleball league is split evenly between boys and girls, most of them over fifty._
4. A son of any age.
   - Simple: A son, no matter how old he is.
   - _The Hendersons' boy just made partner at a law firm in Chicago._
   - _Their boys, both in their fifties, still argue over who carves the turkey at Thanksgiving._
6. A male friend. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A close male friend, a buddy.
   - _Don't worry about Marcus. He's my boy, and he'll come through._
   - _Devon rolled into the cookout with his boys from the old neighborhood._
7. A male animal, especially a pet, often used in affectionate address (Good boy!).
   - Simple: A male animal, especially a pet dog, as in 'Good boy!'
   - _Come on, boy. Time for your walk._
   - _'Who's a good boy?' the vet asked, scratching the nervous terrier behind the ears._
8. A young male worker, especially a servant, assistant, or junior employee in a household or business.
   - Simple: A young man or child hired to help with simple work, like running errands.
   - _The printer took on a boy of fourteen to sweep up and mind the press._
   - _The warehouse boys stacked crates from dawn until the evening bell._
10. Any tangible object close at hand, referred to playfully or emphatically, often in phrases such as 'bad boy.' *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A playful name for a thing near you, often in the phrase 'bad boy.'
   - _Strap this bad boy to the roof rack and we're ready to camp._
   - _"These bad boys can tow three tons each," the salesman said, slapping the truck's hood._
11. An offensive way of referring to or addressing a non-white male, regardless of his age.
   - Simple: An insulting way to speak to or about a man who is not white, whatever his age.
   - _'Move along, boy,' the patrolman said to the elderly Black minister._
   - _'We don't serve your kind here, boy,' the white clerk told the gray-haired Black veteran._
12. A slang term for heroin, used especially in US street and drug culture. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: A street name for the illegal drug heroin.
   - _The crew moved boy out of the back of the barbershop, a few grams at a time._
   - _She said she'd been buying boy from the same dealer for years._

## Interjection

5. An exclamation expressing surprise, pleasure, or longing.
   - Simple: Something you say to show surprise, happiness, or a strong wish.
   - _Boy, that meeting could have been an email._
   - _Boy, do I miss my grandmother's cooking._

## Noun

9. A male servant or employee of any age, especially a non-white man addressed this way. *(dated)*
   - Simple: An old, insulting word for a man who works as a servant, often used about non-white men.
   - _The colonel sent his boy, a grizzled servant of fifty, ahead to the station with the luggage._
   - _Each evening the trader's boy, a grown man with children of his own, rowed him across the river._
13. A male camp follower; a man or youth who accompanied an army to perform menial work for the soldiers. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A man or young man who followed an army to serve the soldiers and do simple work.
14. A man of low station; especially, as an insult, a worthless or dishonest man: a wretch or knave. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A man of low position, or a worthless and dishonest man.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A male submissive; a man who takes the obedient, serving role in a BDSM relationship or dynamic.
- (noun) A former low rank in various armed services; also, a person holding that rank.
- (verb) To act or represent in the manner of a boy, alluding to the former practice of boys playing women's parts on the stage.

## Origin

The word comes from Middle English "boy" or "boye" ("servant, commoner, knave, boy"), probably from Old English "*bōia", tracing back through Proto-West Germanic "*bōjō" to Proto-Germanic "*bōjô" ("younger brother, young male relation") and ultimately to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "father, elder brother, brother". It is cognate with Scots "boy", West Frisian "boai", Dutch "boi", and Low German "Boi", and is probably related to the Old English name Bōia.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/boy (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).