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