Boyhood

How to spell boyhood

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce boyhood

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does boyhood mean?

1. nounThe period of a male person's life during which he is a boy; the state of being a boy.

Boyhood in a sentence

• He spent his boyhood on a farm in the countryside.

• The memoir describes a boyhood marked by poverty and ambition.

Where does boyhood come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound. The first element, boy, appeared in Middle English (recorded from around the 1200s) with the sense of a male servant or young male, though its own ultimate origin is debated and possibly tied to Old French or Germanic words for a servant or knave. The second element, -hood, descends from the Old English suffix -had, which meant a state, rank, or condition of life; the very same suffix gives us childhood, manhood, neighbourhood, and priesthood. When the two were joined, the word came to mean the period or condition of being a boy. The pairing is straightforward, which is why the only real spelling consideration is remembering the silent-looking double rounding of the -oo- in -hood rather than -ood spelled differently.

How the word is built

• boy (male child)
• -hood (suffix denoting a state, condition, or period of life)