Etymologically
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boyfriend

Etymology and origin of the English word boyfriend

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1822

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbɔɪ.frend/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of boy and friend.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A male friend: 1822 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged,[3] 1845 in the Collegiate,[4] and 1850 in Etymonline, of a boyhood friend of a man or woman.[2]

Semantic evolution

The romantic sense, a woman's favoured male companion or sweetheart, is from 1906.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates a later sense to 1989.[3] It is also written boy-friend.[2]

Timeline

  • 1822 – a male friend.[3]
  • 1850 – a boyhood friend.[2]
  • 1906 – a sweetheart.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A man or boy with whom a person has a regular romantic or sexual relationship; a sweetheart.
  2. A male friend.

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Boyfriend.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/boyfriend. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·