Standard Lemma guide

boyhood

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈbɔɪˌhʊd/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: B OY1 HH UH2 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state or condition of being a boy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The childhood of a boy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the childhood of a boy

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: childhood

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bhā- Proto-Germanic *bō- Proto-West Germanic *bōjō Old English *bōia Middle English boye English boy Proto-Indo-European *keyt-der. Proto-Germanic *haiduzder. Proto-West Germanic *-haiduder. Old English -hād Middle English -hede English -hood English boyhood From boy + -hood.

Across languages

Translations

17 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Assamese: ল’ৰালি (lörali) — The state or period of being a boy
  • Esperanto: knabeco — The state or period of being a boy
  • Finnish: poikuus — The state or period of being a boy
  • French: garçonnité — The state or period of being a boy
  • French: enfance — The state or period of being a boy
  • Galician: nenez — The state or period of being a boy
  • Georgian: სიყრმე (siq̇rme) — The state or period of being a boy
  • Kazakh: ересектік (eresektık) — The state or period of being a boy
  • Central Kurdish: کوڕێتی (kurrêtî) — The state or period of being a boy
  • Macedonian: момчештво (momčeštvo) — The state or period of being a boy
  • Pannonian Rusyn: хлапцовство (xlapcovstvo) — The state or period of being a boy
  • Polish: chłopięctwo — The state or period of being a boy
  • Polish: lata chłopięce — The state or period of being a boy
  • Portuguese: meninice — The state or period of being a boy
  • Russian: о́трочество (ótročestvo) — The state or period of being a boy
  • Serbo-Croatian: дечаштво — The state or period of being a boy
  • Spanish: niñez — The state or period of being a boy