# boy

> English word · Noun · IPA /bɔɪ/ · frequency rank #688

## Definitions
1. A male child.
2. A young man.
3. A son of any age.
4. A male human younger than the speaker.
5. A male human of any age, as opposed to a "girl" (female human of any age).
6. A male of low station, (especially as pejorative) a worthless male, a wretch; a mean and dishonest male, a knave.
7. A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee, particularly
8. A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee
9. A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee
10. A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee
11. Any non-white male, regardless of age.
12. A male friend.
13. A male submissive.
14. A male non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a male pet, especially a dog.
15. A former low rank of various armed services; a holder of this rank.
16. Heroin.
17. A male (tree, gene, etc).
18. Any tangible object close to one's person; often used in emphatic forms such as bad boy.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-
Proto-Germanic *bō-
Proto-West Germanic *bōjō
Old English *bōia
Middle English boye
English boy
From Middle English boy /boye (“servant, commoner, knave, boy”), from Old English *bōia (“boy”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōjō, from Proto-Germanic *bōjô (“younger brother, young male relation”), from Proto-Germanic *bō- (“brother, close male relation”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-, *bʰāt- (“father, elder brother, brother”).
Cognate with Scots boy (“boy”), West Frisian boai (“boy”), Dutch boi (“boy”), Low German Boi (“boy”), and probably to the Old English proper name Bōia. Also related to West Flemish boe (“brother”), Norwegian dialectal boa (“brother”), Dutch boef (“rogue, knave”), Bavarian Bua (“young boy, lad”), German Bube ("boy; knave; jack"; > English bub), Icelandic bófi (“rogue, crook, bandit, knave”), Lombard bagaj. See also bully.

## Easily confused with
- **by** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-by)
- **BS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bs)
- **br** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-br)
- **Bt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bt)
- **BP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bp)
- **BW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bw)
- **BX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bx)
- **but** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-but)
- **buy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-buy)
- **bus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bus)
- **bro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bro)
- **bye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bye)
- **bug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bug)
- **bud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bud)
- **BTW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-btw)
- **bra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bra)
- **bum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bum)
- **bun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bun)
- **BTC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-btc)
- **BTS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-bts)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/boy