Where does “office boy” come from?

office boy (English) comes from English Office, from Middle English office, from Old French office, from Latin officium, from Latin opificium, from Latin opifex, from Latin Ops, from Latin oscen — to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing.

office boy (English): A junior male clerk employed in a professional...

Definitions

A junior male clerk employed in a professional...

Ancestry of “office boy”, step by step

office boy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Office

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	English	Office	A ceremonial duty or service, particularly
2	Middle English	office	The state of being employed or having a work or...
3	Old French	office	office; service
4	Latin	officium	duty, service; office; obligation, an obligatory...
5	Latin	opificium	work
6	Latin	opifex	Someone who does work (especially creative or constructive); worker, maker, framer, fabricator, workman, mechanic, artificer, craftsman, inventor, artist, artisan
7	Latin	Ops	earth goddess, fertility deity
8	Latin	oscen	any bird by whose song cries augurs divined...
9	Latin	opscen	—
10	Latin	ob-	towards; against
11	Latin	obolus	obolus (Greek coin)
12	Ancient Greek	ὀβολός	obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
13	Ancient Greek	ὀβελός	a spit, rod; a horizontal line
14	Ancient Greek	βέλος	missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
15	Proto-Indo-European	gʷélHos	—
16	Proto-Indo-European	gʷelH-	to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

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

Words derived from “office boy”

office boy

Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →Every word from Latin ob- →Every word from Latin opscen →