playmate

Etymology

It is a compound from English play + mate,^[2][3][4] the OED taking the first part as the noun play, Etymonline as the verb.^[2][3] Play goes back to plega and plegian;^[3] mate, companion, is from Middle Low German mate or gemate (“messmate, one eating at the same table”).^[3][5] The OED compares the earlier playfellow and playfere,^[2] the older word, with the obsolete fere, companion.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A companion in play, a playfellow: about 1560, in Edward Gosynhyll's Prayse of all Women.^[2][6] The OED's 1989 edition dated it to 1642,^[7] Etymonline to the 1640s,^[3] and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate to 1591.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word joined playfellow, recorded from before 1535,^[2] and replaced the Middle English playfere.^[3] It was used figuratively from early on.^[2] A euphemistic American sense, a partner in amorous or sexual play, a lover, is recorded from 1928;^[2] Etymonline dates the sexual sense to 1954 and the launch of Playboy magazine,^[3] and in later use a playmate is also a pin-up model in that magazine.^[2][1] In American military slang of the late 20th century a playmate was a pilot's wingman.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1560 – a companion in play.^[2][6]
• 1928 – a partner in amorous play, a lover (originally US).^[2]
• 1950s – a pin-up model in Playboy magazine.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A companion in play, especially a child's playfellow: The two cousins were inseparable playmates every summer.^[6][9][2]
2. (euphemistic) A lover or partner in sexual play.^[2][1]
3. A woman featured as a pin-up model in Playboy magazine.^[2][1]

Related words

• playfellow
• play
• mate
• fere

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins