boyfriend English · revision 4402

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1822}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɔɪ.frend/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[boy]] and [[friend]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A male friend: 1822 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged,^(MWU 2024) 1845 in the Collegiate,^(MW Collegiate) and 1850 in Etymonline, of a boyhood friend of a man or woman.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The romantic sense, a woman's favoured male companion or sweetheart, is from 1906.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates a later sense to 1989.^(MWU 2024) It is also written boy-friend.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1822 – a male friend.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1850 – a boyhood friend.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1906 – a sweetheart.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A man or boy with whom a person has a regular romantic or sexual relationship; a [[sweetheart]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A male [[friend]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[girlfriend]]

+ * [[boy]]

+ * [[friend]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}