Where does “boyhood” come from?
Boyhood derives from Middle English -hod, Middle Dutch boeye, Proto-Germanic haiduz, Latin boia, and Proto-Indo-European bʰā-, tracing ultimately to Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂- and gʷōws.
boyhood (English): The state or period of being a boy
Definitions
- The state or period of being a boy
Ancestry of “boyhood”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -hood | A substantive suffix denoting a condition or... |
| 2 | Middle English | -hede | Affixed to nouns and adjectives to form nouns... |
| 3 | Old English | -hād | -hood |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -haidu | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | haiduz | manner, way; personality, character; appearance |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)kayt- | — |