What is the difference between boyfriend and boy?
boyfriend | boy | Derived terms |
A male partner in a romantic relationship.
* 2012 , (Justin Bieber), Boyfriend
A male friend.
Male servant.
# (now, rare) A male servant, in general senses.
# (historical, now, offensive) A non-white male servant, as used especially by whites in a colonial settlement etc.
# (now, offensive) A non-white male.
(obsolete) A lower-class or disreputable man; a worthless person.
* 1608 , (William Shakespeare), (King Lear) , Act I Scene 4:
A young male human; a male child or young adult.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=
, volume=189, issue=6, page=34, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= A son.
* (Walter Scott)
A man of any age, used as a friendly diminutive, or of a man who is merely younger than the speaker.
* 1977 , (Bert Newton), to (Mohammed Ali) at the 1977 Logie Awards:[http://www.abc.net.au/thingo/txt/s1088100.htm]
(colloquial) A male friend or fellow of some group, community etc. (mainly used in the plural).
(US, slang) Heroin.
to use the word boy to refer to someone
to act as a boy (qualifier, in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage)
* Shakespeare
Boyfriend is a derived term of boy.
As nouns the difference between boyfriend and boy
is that boyfriend is a male partner in a romantic relationship while boy is male servant.As a interjection boy is
exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.As a verb boy is
to use the word boy to refer to someone.boyfriend
English
Alternative forms
* boy friend (dated)Noun
(en noun)- If I was your boyfriend , I’d never let you go
I can take you places you ain’t never been before.
Synonyms
* (male friend) guyfriend (slang)Usage notes
In contrast to its female equivalent, girlfriend, which is often used to describe a woman's close female friends, the term is not that often used in reference to non-romantic relationships. Boyfriend is a relatively modern term, and in the past has had implications of an illicit relationship (as sexual and romantic relationships outside marriage were generally frowned upon). It is now a generally accepted term and has no negative implications. Use of boyfriend generally implies that the male is a boy or a young man. An older man in a non-marital relationship and sometimes even a young man in a long-term relationship is more often described as a significant other or partner. Separating the word into its two components boy friend'' avoids the romantic implication nowadays, although ''boy friend'' used to mean the same as ''boyfriend does now. However, British and Australian men usually refer to a male friend as a mate. Similarly, Americans and Canadians use the term buddy.See also
* * girlfriend * husband * lover * significant other ----boy
English
Alternative forms
* boi (Jamaican English)Noun
(en noun)- When the 'dipenda' (independence movement) in Belgian Congo turned violent, the white colonisers' often materially privileged black domestic boys were mistrusted and often abused as collaborators.
- Dost thou call me fool, boy ?
Ian Sample
Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains, passage=Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys , but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.}}
- My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee.
- I like the boy .
Synonyms
* brat * knave * lad * squirt * youngster * youth * See alsoSee also
* (African-American) uncleAntonyms
* (young male) girlDerived terms
* altar boy * attaboy * bad boy * bagboy * ball boy, ballboy * bat boy * b-boy * bell boy, bellboy * best boy * big boys * blue-eyed boy * boi * boy band * boy-bishop * boy crazy * boyfriend * boy genius * boyhood * boy howdy * boyish * boyism * boykin (diminutive) * boy oh boy * boy racer * boys and their toys * boy scout * boytjie * boy toy * boys will be boys * boy wonder * bully boy * bum boy * cabin boy * city boy * college boy * copy boy * cowboy * delivery boy * doughboy * farm boy * frat boy * golden boy * homeboy * house boy * lawnboy * little boy * lowboy * mama’s boy]], [[mummy's boy, mummy’s boy * my boy * nancy boy * newsboy * office boy * oh boy * old boy * our boy * page boy, pageboy * paper boy, paperboy * pizza boy, pizzaboy * pool boy * poor boy, po’ boy * poster boy * potboy * pretty boy * rent boy * sailor boy * sea boy * shop boy * sonny boy * stableboy * tallboy * Teddy boy * tomboy * traffic boy * water boy * whipping boy * whiteboy, white boy * wide boy * wolf boy * yellow boy, yellow-boyDescendants
* Irish English: boyo * Vietnamese:Verb
(en verb)- I shall see some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness.