boy


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boy

a male child
Not to be confused with:
buoy – a floating signal; a life preserver
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

boy

 (boi)
n.
1. A male child.
2. A son: his youngest boy.
3. Often Offensive A man, especially a young man.
4. Informal A man socializing in a group of men: a night out with the boys.
5. Offensive A male servant or employee.
interj.
Used to express mild astonishment, elation, or disgust: Oh boy—what a surprise!

[Middle English boi, male servant, churl, young male, possibly from Old French embuié, person in fetters, from past participle of embuier, to fetter, from buie, fetter, shackle, from Latin bōia, collar or yoke used to restrain criminals, probably from Greek boeiā (dorā), (skin) of an ox, an ox hide (such restraints being made from ox hide), from feminine of boeios, of an ox or oxen, of ox hide, from bous, ox; see gwou- in Indo-European roots.]

boy′hood′ n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

boy

(bɔɪ)
n
1. a male child; lad; youth
2. a man regarded as immature or inexperienced: he's just a boy when it comes to dealing with women.
3. See old boy
4. informal a group of men, esp a group of friends
5. usually derogatory (esp in former colonial territories) a Black person or native male servant of any age
6. Austral a jockey or apprentice
7. short for boyfriend
8. boys will be boys youthful indiscretion or exuberance must be expected and tolerated
9. jobs for the boys informal appointment of one's supporters to posts, without reference to their qualifications or ability
10. the boy informal Irish the right tool for a particular task: that's the boy to cut it.
interj
an exclamation of surprise, pleasure, contempt, etc: boy, is he going to be sorry!.
[C13 (in the sense: male servant; C14: young male): of uncertain origin; perhaps from Anglo-French abuié fettered (unattested), from Latin boia fetter]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

boy

(bɔɪ)

n.
1. a male child, from birth to full growth.
2. a young man who lacks maturity, judgment, etc.
3. Informal. a grown man, esp. when referred to familiarly.
4. a son.
5. a male who is from or native to a given place: He's a country boy.
6. boys, (used with a sing. or pl. v.)
a. a range of sizes from 8 to 20 in garments for boys.
b. a garment in this range.
7. Disparaging and Offensive. (a contemptuous term used to refer to or address a man considered to be inferior in race, nationality, or occupational status.)
8. Usually Offensive. (a term used to refer to or address a male servant or domestic employee.)
interj.
9. (an exclamation of wonder, approval, etc., or of displeasure or contempt.)
[1250–1300; Middle English boy(e), bye servant, commoner, boy; of obscure orig.]
usage: Definition 8, usually referring to nonwhites, is used with disparaging intent and is perceived as insulting. It is used most often to emphasize the speaker's low opinion of the person referred to. Definition 9, less common today, was originally used in colonial territories such as India to refer to a native male servant.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.boy - a youthful male personboy - a youthful male person; "the baby was a boy"; "she made the boy brush his teeth every night"; "most soldiers are only boys in uniform"
male person, male - a person who belongs to the sex that cannot have babies
altar boy - a boy serving as an acolyte
ball boy - a boy who retrieves balls for tennis players
bat boy - (baseball) a boy who takes care of bats and other baseball equipment
laddie, sonny, sonny boy, cub, lad - a male child (a familiar term of address to a boy)
farm boy - a boy who has grown up on a farm
Fauntleroy, Little Lord Fauntleroy - an excessively polite and well-dressed boy
ploughboy, plowboy - a boy who leads the animals that draw a plow
schoolboy - a boy attending school
Scout - a Boy Scout or Girl Scout
shop boy - a young male shop assistant
female child, little girl, girl - a youthful female person; "the baby was a girl"; "the girls were just learning to ride a tricycle"
2.boy - a friendly informal reference to a grown man; "he likes to play golf with the boys"
broth of a boy, broth of a man - an outstanding person; as if produced by boiling down a savory broth
adult male, man - an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman); "there were two women and six men on the bus"
one of the boys - a man who has been socially accepted into a group of other men; "he quickly became one of the boys"
3.boy - a male human offspringboy - a male human offspring; "their son became a famous judge"; "his boy is taller than he is"
Jnr, Jr, Junior - a son who has the same first name as his father
male offspring, man-child - a child who is male
mama's boy, mamma's boy, mother's boy - a boy excessively attached to his mother; lacking normal masculine interests
daughter, girl - a female human offspring; "her daughter cared for her in her old age"
4.boy - (ethnic slur) offensive and disparaging term for Black man; "get out of my way, boy"
depreciation - a communication that belittles somebody or something
ethnic slur - a slur on someone's race or language
Black man - a man who is Black
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

boy

noun lad, kid (informal), youth, fellow, youngster, chap (informal), schoolboy, junior, laddie (Scot.), stripling I knew him when he was just a little boy.
Proverbs
"Never send a boy to do a man's job"
"Boys will be boys"
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

boy

noun
Informal. A grown man referred to familiarly, jokingly, or as a member of one's set or group:
Informal: chap.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
صَبِيُّفَتى، صَبي، ذَكَروَلَدوَلَد، صَبي
момче
home
chlapechochkamelotkluk-kluk
drengfyrknægtdrengene=-dreng
knabo
poiss
poikapojatheppu
dječakmomak
feketeférfifiúszolga
puero
laki-lakipria
drengurstrákurvikapiltur
少年
소년젊은이
adulescenspuer
berniukasdraugaskokį nors darbą dirbantis vaikinasvaikystė
avīžpuika/iznēsātājskovbojszēns
băiatfiu
chlapeckamelot
dečekfant
killepojkegossegrabb
เด็กชายเด็กหนุ่ม
oğlanoğlan çocuğubir iş yapan erkek çocukdelikanlıerkek çocuk
козачок
chàng traicon trai

boy

[bɔɪ]
A. N
1. (= small) → niño m; (= young man) → muchacho m, chico m, joven m (LAm); (= son) → hijo m
oh boy!¡vaya!
I have known him from a boylo conozco desde chico
to send a boy to do a man's jobmandar a un muchacho a hacer un trabajo de hombre
boys will be boys¡los hombres, ya se sabe, son como niños!
see also old C
2. (= fellow) → chico m, hijo m
that's the boy!; that's my boy!¡bravo!
but my dear boy!¡pero hijo!, ¡pero hombre!
García and his boys in the national teamGarcía y sus muchachos del equipo nacional
he's out with the boysha salido con los amigos
he's one of the boys nowahora es un personaje
the boys in blue (Brit) → la policía
see also job A1
3. (= servant) → criado m
B. CPD boy band N (Brit) (Mus) grupo de música pop masculino
boy racer N (Brit) (pej) → loco m del volante
boy scout N(muchacho m or niño m) explorador m
boy wonder Nniño m prodigio, joven promesa m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

boy

[ˈbɔɪ]
ngarçon m
boys will be boys → ça, c'est bien les hommes
to be one of the boys (= one of the lads) → faire partie de la bande
the boys in blue (old-fashioned) (= police) → les gardiens de la paix
excl (mainly US) oh boy!, boy! → dis donc!boy band n (British)boys band m
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

boy

n
(= male child)Junge m, → Bub m (dial); bad or naughty boy!du frecher Bengel; (to animal) → böser Hund! etc; sit, boy! (to dog) → sitz!; the Jones boyder Junge von Jones; boys will be boysJungen sind nun mal so; a school for boyseine Jungenschule; good morning, boysguten Morgen(, Jungs)! ? old boy
(inf: = fellow) → Knabe m (inf); the old boy (= boss)der Alte (inf); (= father)mein etc alter Herr
(= friend) the boysmeine/seine Kumpels; our boys (= team)unsere Jungs; jobs for the boysVetternwirtschaft f
(= native servant, liftboy)Boy m; (= messenger boy, ship’s boy)Junge m; (= butcher’s etc boy)(Lauf)junge m; (= pageboy)(Hotel)boy m; (= stable boy)Stalljunge or (older) → -bursche m
oh boy! (inf)Junge, Junge! (inf)

boy

:
boyfriend
nFreund m
boyhood
nKindheit f; (as teenager) → Jugend(zeit) f

boy

:
boy scout
nPfadfinder m
Boy Scouts
n singPfadfinder pl
boy toy
n (inf, pej)
(= woman) junge, sexuell anziehende Frau
(= man) junger, besonders für ältere Frauen attraktiver Mann
boy wonder
n (inf)Wunderkind nt, → Wunderknabe m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

boy

[bɔɪ] nragazzo; (small) → bambino; (son) → figlio; (servant) → servo
she had a boy → ha avuto un maschio
school for boys → scuola maschile
when I was a boy → quand'ero piccolo
boys will be boys → che vuoi, sono maschi
he's out with the boys → è fuori con gli amici
old boy → vecchio mio
my dear boy → mio caro
oh boy! → mamma mia!
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

boy

(boi) noun
1. a male child. She has three girls and one boy.
2. (as part of another word) a male (often adult) who does a certain job. a cowboy; a paper-boy.
ˈboyhood noun
the time of being a boy. a happy boyhood; (also adjective) boyhood memories.
ˈboyfriend noun
a girl's favourite male friend.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

boy

صَبِيُّ, وَلَد chlapec dreng, fyr Bursche, Junge αγόρι, παλληκάρι muchacho, niño heppu, poika garçon, gars dječak, momak ragazzo 少年 소년, 젊은이 jongen gutt, unggutt chłopak, chłopiec menino, moço, rapaz мальчик, парень kille, pojke เด็กชาย, เด็กหนุ่ม delikanlı, oğlan çocuğu chàng trai, con trai 少年, 男孩
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

boy

n. niño, muchacho.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

boy

n niño, muchacho, chico
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
He felt that his charge was not making the progress that his parents had a right to expect, and he was now conscientiously explaining this fact to the boy's mother.
Now, the fact was, that both Mr and Mrs Squeers viewed the boys in the light of their proper and natural enemies; or, in other words, they held and considered that their business and profession was to get as much from every boy as could by possibility be screwed out of him.
Franklin since he was a boy, living along with us in this house.
I've got them all, thank God, and am the happiest woman in the world." And Meg laid her hand on her tall boy's head, with a face full of tender and devout content.
WHEN DAVID HARDY was a tall boy of fifteen, he, like his mother, had an adventure that changed the whole current of his life and sent him out of his quiet corner into the world.
There were two baths for the fifty boarders, and each boy had a bath once a week.
Trent clenched his fist, and his language made the boy, who had never heard him violent, look up in surprise.
Then Warner, the head of the house, gets up and wants to speak; but he can't, for every boy knows what's coming.
He had never seen such a fat boy, in or out of a travelling caravan; and this, coupled with the calmness and repose of his appearance, so very different from what was reasonably to have been expected of the inflicter of such knocks, smote him with wonder.
"Wear as many as you like, and I'll smoke in peace," returned this bad boy.
When, in less than a week, however, Pollyanna brought home a small, ragged boy, and confidently claimed the same protection for him, Miss Polly did have something to say.
There was once upon a time a poor boy who had neither father nor mother.