Where does “batboy” come from?
batboy (English) comes from English bat, from French bât, from Old French bast, from Vulgar Latin bastum, from Latin bastāre, from Ancient Greek βαστάζω — to lift, lift up, raise; to bear, carry; to carry...
batboy (English): A boy employed to watch over the bats, and assist...
Definitions
- A boy employed to watch over the bats, and assist...
Ancestry of “batboy”, step by step
batboy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English bat
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | bat | Any of the flying mammals of the order... |
| 2 | French | bât | packsaddle |
| 3 | Old French | bast | packsaddle |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | bastum | A stick |
| 5 | Latin | bastāre | — |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | βαστάζω | to lift, lift up, raise; to bear, carry; to carry... |
via English boy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | boy | A young male; A male child: a son of any age; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | boye | servant, commoner, knave, boy |
| 3 | Old English | bōia | boy |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | bōjô | younger brother, young male relation |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | bō- | A stem meaning "father, brother, close male... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰā- | to say |