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tomboy

noun
/ˈtɒm.bɔɪ/UK/ˈtɑm.bɔɪ/US

Etymology

From tom + boy. First attested in Ralph Roister Doister (published 1567, written circa 1552), where it is used to describe a boisterous girl; the OED says the citation is however "generally taken" to mean a boisterous boy, and says that a use in The Old Law (published 1656, thought to have been written circa 1599) "certainly" means a boy: "must young court-tits / play tomboys' tricks with her?" By 1579 it was attested in the meaning "an immodest woman", and by no later than 1592 it had developed its modern meaning of a “girl who acts like a boy”.

  1. derived from *bʰā-✻
  2. derived from *bō-✻ — “brother, close male relation”
  3. inherited from *bōjô✻ — “younger brother, young male relation”
  4. inherited from *bōjō✻
  5. inherited from *bōia✻ — “boy”
  6. inherited from boy//boye — “servant, commoner, knave, boy”
  7. compounded as tomboy — “tom + boy”

Definitions

  1. A girl who behaves in a typically boyish manner.

    • His sister, his dearest and only playmate, is a tomboy at heart.
    • “When you have a little girl like mine who is obsessed with the ocean and giant squids and insect infestations in homes, she’s considered weird or odd or a tomboy when in fact, science and things like that should be considered girly.”

  2. A rude, boisterous boy.

  3. An immodest or bold woman.

  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. A butch lesbian.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for tomboy. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA