Boyfriend

How to spell boyfriend

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce boyfriend

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does boyfriend mean?

1. nounA male romantic partner.

Boyfriend in a sentence

• She introduced her boyfriend to her parents over dinner.

• Her boyfriend booked the restaurant for their anniversary.

Where does boyfriend come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent compound built from two native English words. 'Boy' appeared in Middle English as 'boi', originally meaning a male servant or knave, with origins that are debated but probably Germanic. 'Friend' descends from the Old English 'freond', a companion or loved one, which itself grew out of the verb 'freon', meaning 'to love', linking it to the same family as 'free'. The pair was first stitched together in the late nineteenth century in American English, initially simply meaning a male friend or companion. By the early twentieth century it had narrowed to its modern romantic sense, a male romantic partner, mirroring the parallel formation 'girlfriend'. Because both halves are familiar everyday words, the only real spelling caution is keeping the 'ie' order in 'friend', a classic trap that the rule 'fri-END has an end' helps fix.

How the word is built

• boy (male child or young man)
• friend (companion, ally)