Etymograph

English

link boy

From link (“torch, light”) + boy.

A compound of link ‘torch, light’ + boy

Middle English linke

English link

Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-

…

Proto-Germanic *bōjô ‘younger brother’

Proto-West Germanic *bōjō

Old English *bōia ‘boy’

Middle English boye ‘servant, commoner, knave, boy’

English boy

Today it means

noun A boy employed to carry a torch or other light at night to help people navigate through the streets.

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

Etymograph / link boy