different between boy vs gazoon
boy
English
Alternative forms
- boi
Etymology
From Middle English boy, boye (“servant, commoner, knave, boy”), from Old English *b?ia (“boy”), from Proto-Germanic *b?jô (“younger brother, young male relation”), from Proto-Germanic *b?- (“brother, close male relation”), from Proto-Indo-European *b??-, *b??t- (“father, elder brother, brother”). Cognate with Scots boy (“boy”), West Frisian boai (“boy”), Middle Dutch boi, booi (“boy”), Low German Boi (“boy”), and probably to the Old English proper name B?ia. Also related to West Flemish boe (“brother”), Norwegian dialectal boa (“brother”), Dutch boef (“rogue, knave”), German Bube ("boy; knave; jack"; > English bub), Icelandic bófi (“rogue, crook, bandit, knave”). See also bully.
Pronunciation
- enPR: boi, IPA(key): /b??/
- (Southern American English) IPA(key): /b???/
- Rhymes: -??
Noun
boy (countable and uncountable, plural boys)
- A young male. [from 15th c.]
- 1440, Promptorium Parvulorum, 35:
- Bye or boye: Bostio.
- 1535, Bible (Coverdale), Zechariah, Chapter VIII, Verse 5:
- The stretes of the citie shalbe full of yonge boyes and damselles...
- 1711 March 7, Jonathan Swift, Journal, line 208:
- I find I was mistaken in the sex, 'tis a boy.
- 1812, Lord Byron, Childe Harold, Canto II, xxiii, 72:
- Ah! happy years! once more who would not be a boy?
- (particularly) A male child or teenager, as distinguished from infants or adults.
- 1876, Frances Eliza Millett Notley, The Kiddle-a-Wink, "A Tale of Love", page 169:
- "He is not quite a baby, Alfred," said Ellen, "though he is only a big stupid boy. We have made him miserable enough. Let us leave him alone."
- 1876, Frances Eliza Millett Notley, The Kiddle-a-Wink, "A Tale of Love", page 169:
- 1440, Promptorium Parvulorum, 35:
- (diminutive) A male child: a son of any age.
- (endearing, diminutive) A male of any age, particularly one rather younger than the speaker. [from 17th c.]
- (obsolete) A male of low station, (especially as pejorative) a worthless male, a wretch; a mean and dishonest male, a knave. [14th-17th c.]
- 1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act I Scene 4:
- Dost thou call me fool, boy?
- 1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act I Scene 4:
- (now rare and usually offensive outside some Commonwealth nations) A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee, [from 14th c.] particularly:
- c. 1300, King Horn, line 1075:
- þe boye hit scholde abugge; Horn þreu him ouer þe brigge.
- 1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow, i, 37:
- ‘Why does he go out and pinch all his dogs in person? He's an administrator, isn't he? Wouldn't he hire a boy or something?’
‘We call them “staff”,’ Roger replies.
- ‘Why does he go out and pinch all his dogs in person? He's an administrator, isn't he? Wouldn't he hire a boy or something?’
- A younger such worker.
- 1721, Penelope Aubin, The Life of Madam de Beaumount, ii, 36:
- I resolved to continue in the Cave, with my two Servants, my Maid, and a Boy, whom I had brought from France.
- 1721, Penelope Aubin, The Life of Madam de Beaumount, ii, 36:
- (historical or offensive) A non-white male servant regardless of age, [from 17th c.] particularly as a form of address.
- 1625, W. Hawkins in Samuel Purchas, Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas his Pilgrimes, Vol. I, iii, vii, 211:
- My Boy Stephen Grauener.
- 1834, Edward Markham, New Zealand or Recollections of It, 72:
- They picked out two of the strongest of the Boys (as they call the Men) about the place.
- 1876, Ebenezer Thorne, The Queen of the Colonies, or, Queensland as I Knew It, 58:
- The blacks who work on a station or farm are always, like the blacks in the Southern States, called boys.
- 1907 May 13, N.Y. Evening Post, 6:
- [In Shanghai,] The register clerk assigns you to a room, and instead of ‘Front!’ he shouts ‘Boy!’
- 1960 February 5, Northern Territory News, 5/5:
- Aborigine Wally... described himself as ‘number one boy’ at the station.
- 1625, W. Hawkins in Samuel Purchas, Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas his Pilgrimes, Vol. I, iii, vii, 211:
- (obsolete) A male camp follower.
- 1572, John Sadler translating Flavius Vegetius Renatus, Foure Bookes... Contayninge a Plaine Forme, and Perfect Knowledge of Martiall Policye..., iii, vii:
- If any water be rough and boysterous, or the chanell verye broade, it manye times drowneth the carriages and the boyes and nowe and then slouthfull and lyther souldiours.
- 1600, William Shakespeare, The Cronicle History of Henry the Fift..., Act IV, Scene vii, 1:
- Godes plud kil the boyes and the lugyge,
Tis the arrants peece of knauery...
- Godes plud kil the boyes and the lugyge,
- 1572, John Sadler translating Flavius Vegetius Renatus, Foure Bookes... Contayninge a Plaine Forme, and Perfect Knowledge of Martiall Policye..., iii, vii:
- c. 1300, King Horn, line 1075:
- (now offensive) Any non-white male, regardless of age. [from 19th c.]
- 1812, Anne Plumptre translating Hinrich Lichtenstein, Travels in Southern Africa, in the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806, Vol. I, i, viii, 119:
- A Hottentot... expects to be called by his name if addressed by any one who knows it; and by those to whom it is not known he expects to be called Hottentot... or boy.
- 1888, Louis Diston Powles, Land of Pink Pearl, or Recollections of Life in the Bahamas, 66:
- Every darky, however old, is a boy.
- 1973 September 8, Black Panther, 7/2:
- [In Alabama,] Guards still use the term ‘boy’ to refer to Black prisoners.
- 1979, Bert Newton and Mohammed Ali, The Logie Awards:
- BN: [repeating a catchphrase] I like the boy.
MA: [to hostile audience] Hold it, hold it, hold it. Easy. Did you say ‘Roy’ or ‘boy’?
BN: ‘I like the boy’. There's nothing wrong with saying that... Hang on, hang on, hang on... I'll change religion, I'll do anything for ya, I don't bloody care... What's wrong with saying that? ‘I like the boy’?
MA: Boy...
BN: I mean, I like the man. I'm sorry, Muhammad.
- BN: [repeating a catchphrase] I like the boy.
- 1812, Anne Plumptre translating Hinrich Lichtenstein, Travels in Southern Africa, in the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806, Vol. I, i, viii, 119:
- A male animal, especially, in affectionate address, a male dog. [from 15th c.]
- C'mere, boy! Good boy! Who's a good boy?
- Are you getting a boy cat or a girl cat?
- (historical, military) A former low rank of various armed services; a holder of this rank.
- 1841 May 6, Times in London, 5/4:
- Wounded... 1 Boy, 1st class, severely.
- 1963 April 30, Times in London, 16/2:
- He joined the Navy as a boy second class in 1898.
- 1841 May 6, Times in London, 5/4:
- (US, slang, uncountable) Heroin. [from 20th c.]
- (somewhat childish) A male (tree, gene, etc).
- 1950, Pageant:
- Are there “boy” trees and “girl” trees? Yes. A number of species, among them the yew, holly and date-bearing palm, have their male and female flowers on different trees. The male holly, for instance, must be planted fairly close to the female ...
- 1970 [earlier 1963], Helen V. Wilson, Helen Van Pelt, Helen Van Pelt's African Violets, Dutton Adult (?ISBN):
- Of the 100 percent total, 25 will have two girl genes, 50 will have one boy and one girl gene, and 25 will have two boy genes.
- 1950, Pageant:
Synonyms
- (young male): See Thesaurus:boy
- (diminutive term of address to males): chap, guy, lad, mate
- (son): See son
- (male servant): manservant
- (disreputable man): brat, knave, squirt
- (heroin): See Thesaurus:heroin
Antonyms
- (young male): See Thesaurus:girl
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
Interjection
boy
- Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.
Related terms
- oh boy
Translations
Verb
boy (third-person singular simple present boys, present participle boying, simple past and past participle boyed)
- To use the word “boy” to refer to someone.
- (transitive) To act as a boy (in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage).
See also
- girl, man (antonyms in some senses)
- Appendix:English collective nouns
References
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
Anagrams
- BYO, Y. O. B., Y.O.B., YOB, YoB, byo, oby, yob
Azerbaijani
Etymology
From Proto-Turkic *bod (“body, stature; self; kin, tribe, etc”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /boj/
Noun
boy (definite accusative boyu, plural boylar)
- height, stature
Declension
Derived terms
- boylu
- boya çatmaq
Cebuano
Etymology
From English boy.
Noun
boy
- houseboy, errand boy
Synonyms
- (errand boy): houseboy, muchacho, mutsatso
Chibcha
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?oi/, /?o?/
Noun
boy
- Alternative form of boi
References
- Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English boy.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /b?i?/
- Hyphenation: boy
- Rhymes: -?i?
Noun
boy m (plural boys, diminutive boytje n)
- (historical, now offensive) a male domestic servant, especially one with a darker skin in a colony
- (informal) boy, young man
See also
- guy
French
Etymology
Borrowed from English boy.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /b?j/
Noun
boy m (plural boys)
- (now historical, offensive) boy (non-white male servant)
- 1930, André Malraux, La Voie royale:
- Claude allait l'ouvrir mais le ton sur lequel le délégué appelait son boy lui fit lever la tête : l'auto attendait, bleue sous l'ampoule de la porte; le boy, qui s'était écarté – en voyant arriver le délégué sans doute – se rapprochait, hésitant.
- 1930, André Malraux, La Voie royale:
Further reading
- “boy” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Hungarian
Etymology
Borrowed from English boy.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [?boj]
- Hyphenation: boy
- Rhymes: -oj
- Homophone: boly
Noun
boy (plural boyok)
- young male servant, low-position assistant
- bellboy (in a hotel)
- Synonym: londiner
- office boy, errand boy, deliveryman
- Synonyms: kifutófiú, kézbesít?
- bellboy (in a hotel)
- (dated) a male ballet dancer
Declension
Derived terms
- boyszolgálat
See also
- görl
Further reading
- boy in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (’A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2021)
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from English boy.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?b?j/
Noun
boy m (plural boys)
- a male ballet dancer
- a bellboy (in a hotel)
Further reading
- boy in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Ladino
Etymology
Borrowed from Turkish boy (“stature, size”).
Noun
boy m (Latin spelling)
- size
- age
Portuguese
Etymology 1
Shortening of office boy, from English office boy.
Alternative forms
- bói
Noun
boy m (plural boys)
- office boy
- (Brazil, slang) a young, upper-class male
Synonyms
- (office boy): office boy
- (rich young man): mauricinho
Etymology 2
Noun
boy m (plural boys)
- Obsolete spelling of boi
Spanish
Noun
boy m (plural boyes)
- male stripper
Sranan Tongo
Alternative forms
- boi (official spelling)
Etymology
From English boy.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /boi?/
Noun
boy
- (unofficial spelling) boy
Turkish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [boj]
Etymology 1
From Proto-Turkic *bod. See archaic bodur (“stout, short”).
Noun
boy (definite accusative boyu, plural boylar)
- stature
- size
Derived terms
- boylu
- boyluluk
- boysuz
- boysuzluk
Etymology 2
Noun
boy (definite accusative boyu, plural boylar)
- tribe, clan
Declension
Etymology 3
From Ottoman Turkish ???? (boy) constructed the same, from Proto-Oghuz, passed into it, Chagatai and Kipchak from Persian ???? (b?y, “smell”).
Noun
boy
- (only constructed with otu or tohumu) fenugreek
- Synonym: çemen
References
- Clauson, Gerard (1972) An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 384b
- Eren, Hasan (1999) , “boy”, in Türk Dilinin Etimolojik Sözlü?ü [Etymological Dictionary of the Turkish Language] (in Turkish), 2nd edition, Ankara: Bizim Büro Bas?m Evi, page 59a
Westrobothnian
Alternative forms
- bog
Etymology
From Old Norse bógr (“shoulder”), from Proto-Germanic *b?guz, from Proto-Indo-European *b????us.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bu?y/
Noun
boy m (definite singular boyen)
- shoulder (of an animal)
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gazoon
English
Etymology
From French garçon.
Noun
gazoon (plural gazoons)
- (Northern Ireland) A young farm boy.
- 1938 (reprinted 1970), John Ellberg, Tales of a Rambler, page 217:
- "[...] devil don't it subtract a bit before the thing goes skylarkin' as it will before—500–550—say this is no place for a gazoon that wants to see Father O'Houlihan before he kicks the bucket," and Pat strode off with the subtleness that bespoke youth and fine trim.
- 1938 (reprinted 1970), John Ellberg, Tales of a Rambler, page 217:
- (nonce word) A close body of men.
- 1819, James Hogg, The Queen's Wake, sixth edition; in Dumlanrig, the Sixteenth Bard's Song, page 277:
- A close gazoon the horsemen made,
- Douglas and Morison the head,
- And through the ranks impetuous bore,
- By dint of lance and broad claymore, […]
- 1819, James Hogg, The Queen's Wake, sixth edition; in Dumlanrig, the Sixteenth Bard's Song, page 277:
References
- O.E.D. unabridged volume 4
gazoon From the web:
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