boyfriend
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Alternative forms
- boy friend (dated)
- boy-friend (dated)
Etymology
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈbɔɪˌfɹɛnd/, /ˈbɔɪfɹənd/
Audio (US): (file)
Noun
boyfriend (plural boyfriends)
- A male partner in an unmarried romantic relationship.
- Coordinate terms: fiancé, girlfriend, enbyfriend, husband, lover, significant other
- I was playing the drums and my boyfriend was playing the electric guitar.
- 2012, “Boyfriend”, performed by Justin Bieber:
- If I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go / I can take you places you ain’t never been before.
- A male friend.
- Synonyms: (slang) guyfriend, buddy, pal, mate; see also Thesaurus:friend
- (often attributively) A style of women's clothing that draws heavily from corresponding men's garments.Wikipedia
Usage notes
- In contrast to its female equivalent, girlfriend, which is often used to describe a woman's close female friend, the term is not used in reference to non-romantic relationships involving males. Separating the word into its two components boy friend avoids the romantic implication nowadays, although boy friend used to mean the same as boyfriend does now. However, British and Australian men usually refer to a male friend as a mate. Similarly, Americans and Canadians use the term buddy. It is also common for American and Canadian women to differentiate non-romantic male friends from romantic ones by referring to them as being their guy friend.
Boyfriend is a relatively modern term, and often has implications of a sexual relationship outside of marriage. In the past, such relationships were actually illegal, and were often considered immoral. With the sexual revolution, however, such relationships became normal in Western countries. As a result, the term is often used today without negative implications.
An adult man in a non-marital romantic relationship is sometimes referred to instead as a significant other or partner, especially if the two partners are living together. Because boyfriend and partner mean different things to different people, the distinctions between the terms are subjective, and which term is used in a relationship will ultimately be determined by personal preference.
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
male partner in a romantic relationship
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male friend
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Anagrams
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
boyfriend (rare)
Declension
| Inflection of boyfriend (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | boyfriend | boyfriendit | |
| genitive | boyfriendin | boyfriendien | |
| partitive | boyfriendiä | boyfriendejä | |
| illative | boyfriendiin | boyfriendeihin | |
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | boyfriend | boyfriendit | |
| accusative | nom. | boyfriend | boyfriendit |
| gen. | boyfriendin | ||
| genitive | boyfriendin | boyfriendien | |
| partitive | boyfriendiä | boyfriendejä | |
| inessive | boyfriendissä | boyfriendeissä | |
| elative | boyfriendistä | boyfriendeistä | |
| illative | boyfriendiin | boyfriendeihin | |
| adessive | boyfriendillä | boyfriendeillä | |
| ablative | boyfriendiltä | boyfriendeiltä | |
| allative | boyfriendille | boyfriendeille | |
| essive | boyfriendinä | boyfriendeinä | |
| translative | boyfriendiksi | boyfriendeiksi | |
| abessive | boyfriendittä | boyfriendeittä | |
| instructive | — | boyfriendein | |
| comitative | See the possessive forms below. | ||
| Possessive forms of boyfriend (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms
Further reading
- “boyfriend”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02
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