boy

boy
boy mid-13c., boie "servant, commoner, knave, boy," possibly from O.Fr. embuie "one fettered," from V.L. *imboiare, from L. boia "leg iron, yoke, leather collar," from Gk. boeiai dorai "ox hides." But it also appears to be identical with E.Fris. boi "young gentleman," and perhaps with Du. boef "knave," from M.Du. boeve, perhaps from M.L.G. buobe. This suggests a gradational relationship to BABE (Cf. babe). For a different conjecture:
In Old English, only the proper name Boia has been recorded. ME boi meant 'churl, servant' and (rarely) 'devil.' In texts, the meaning 'male child' does not antedate 1400. ModE boy looks like a semantic blend of an onomatopoeic word for an evil spirit (*boi) and a baby word for 'brother' (*bo). [Liberman]
Used slightingly of young men in M.E.; meaning "male negro slave or Asian personal servant of any age" attested from c.1600. (Words for "boy" double as "servant, attendant" across the I.E. map -- e.g. It. ragazzo, Fr. garçon, M.E. knave, O.C.S. otroku -- and often it is difficult to say which meaning came first.) Exclamation oh, boy attested from 1892.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • boy — boy …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • Boy — bezeichnet: Boy (Album), Album der Band U2 Bottrop Boy, ein Stadtteil von Bottrop BOY (Band), deutsch schweizer Pop Duo Boy ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Adolf Boy (1612–um 1680), deutscher Maler Dietrich Jürgen Boy (1724–1803),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • boy — [ bɔj ] n. m. • 1843; mot angl. « garçon » 1 ♦ Jeune domestique indigène dans les pays autrefois colonisés. « Nous engageons [...] deux boys et un cuisinier » (A. Gide). 2 ♦ (1956) Danseur de music hall. Vedette entourée de boys et de girls. ⊗… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Boy — Boy, n. [Cf. D. boef, Fries. boi, boy; akin to G. bube, Icel. bofi rouge.] 1. A male child, from birth to the age of puberty; a lad; hence, a son. [1913 Webster] My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee. Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] Note: Boy …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Boy (U2) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Boy. Boy Album par U2 Sortie 20 octobre 1980 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Boy — [bɔy̮], der; s, s: livrierter [Hotel]diener: der Boy brachte ihn im Lift nach oben. Syn.: ↑ Diener, dienstbarer Geist. Zus.: Hotelboy, Liftboy. * * * Boy1 〈[bɔı] m. 6〉 = Boi Boy2 〈[bɔı] m. 6〉 Laufjunge, Bote, jugendl. Angestellter in Hotels ( …   Universal-Lexikon

  • boy — s.m. (Rar) 1. Servitor indigen din colonii (mai ales în hoteluri). 2. Dansator dintr un ansamblu de music hall. [< engl. boy – băiat]. Trimis de LauraGellner, 21.11.2004. Sursa: DN  boy (angl.) s. m., art. bóy ul; pl. bóy, art. bóy i [pro …   Dicționar Român

  • Boy A — Données clés Réalisation John Crowley Scénario Mark O Rowe d après le roman de Jonathan Trigell Acteurs principaux Andrew Garfield Peter Mullan Katie Lyons Sociétés de production Cuba Pictures Grande Bretagne …   Wikipédia en Français

  • boy — [boi] n. [ME boie, servant, commoner, knave, boy < ? OFr embuié, one fettered < embuier, to chain < em , EN 1 + L boiae, fetters, orig., leather collar for the neck < bos, ox, COW1] 1. a male child from birth to the age of physical… …   English World dictionary

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