boy — a male child or young man
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: a male child or young man
Pronunciation (IPA): /bɔɪ/
Example Sentences
- The boy tried to impress the girl by eating 10 hamburgers, but only impressed the restaurant owner.
- Every boy in the class wants to be the superhero when they play.
- The boy's room looks like a tornado hit it, but he claims it's 'organized chaos'.
boy
NOUN[/bɔɪ/]
a male child or young man
A young boy races down the hill with his kite soaring behind him.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
The word 'boy' derives from Middle English 'boie', which originally meant 'servant' or 'attendant'. Over time, the meaning shifted to denote a male child, reflecting a semantic evolution from social status to age designation.
Breakdown
Middle English 'boie' (servant, attendant) underwent semantic shift to 'boy' (male child), with the morphological form remaining relatively stable while the referent narrowed from a social role to an age category.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The boy tried to impress the girl by eating 10 hamburgers, but only impressed the restaurant owner.”
“Every boy in the class wants to be the superhero when they play.”
“The boy's room looks like a tornado hit it, but he claims it's 'organized chaos'.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related
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