Etymograph

English

boy

Boy comes from Middle English boye ‘servant, boy’, from Proto-Germanic *bōjô ‘younger brother’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰā-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bō-‘brother, close male relation’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bōjô‘younger brother’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bōjōreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150*bōia‘boy’reconstructed
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500boye‘servant, commoner, knave, boy’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1535boy

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰā-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bō-‘brother, close male relation’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bōjô‘younger brother’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bōjōreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150*bōia‘boy’reconstructed
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500boye‘servant, commoner, knave, boy’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1535boy

Earliest quotation: 1535, Myles Coverdale: “The ſtretes of the cite alſo ſhalbe full of…”

The story

Also related to Saterland Frisian Bouge (‘boy’), 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 ("boy"; (< Germanic)).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-

baby, babe

through Proto-Germanic *bō- ‘brother, close male relation’

bull, boss, bub

Today it means

noun A male child.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- / boy

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