Where does “playboy” come from?
Playboy, a compound of play and boy, derives from Middle English pleȝen (to engage in activity for amusement), from Middle Dutch boeye and the Middle English verb suffix -en, ultimately tracing to Latin placitum (decision, decree) and Proto-Indo-European bʰā- (to speak).
playboy (English): A single man, especially a wealthy one, who...
Definitions
- A single man, especially a wealthy one, who...
Ancestry of “playboy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | play | To act in a manner such that one has fun; to... |
| 2 | Middle English | pleye | Happiness, mirth, jolliness, or gaiety; Fun,... |
| 3 | Old English | pleġa | exercise |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | plegō | care; an exercise; a game |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -ō | Creates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ô | -ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ō | Derives nouns from roots |
Words derived from “playboy”