A woman with her boyfriend at Alexanderplatz in March 1975
A man with his boyfriend
Partners in committed non-marital relationships are also sometimes described as a significant other or partner,[3] especially if the individuals are cohabiting.
A 2005 study of 115 people ages 21 to 35 who were either living with or had lived with a romantic partner notes that the lack of proper terms often leads to awkward situations, such as someone upset over not being introduced in social situations to avoid the question.[4]
Word history
The word dating entered the American language during the Roaring Twenties. Prior to that, courtship was a matter of family and community interest. Starting around the time of the American Civil War, courtship became a private matter for couples.[5] In the early to mid 19th century in the US, women were often visited by "gentleman callers", single men who would arrive at the home of a young woman with the hopes of beginning a courtship.[6] The era of the gentleman caller ended in the early 20th century and the modern idea of dating developed.[5]
In literature, the term is discussed in July 1988 in Neil Bartlett's, Who Was That Man? A Present for Mr Oscar Wilde. On pages 108–110, Bartlett quotes from an issue of The Artist and Journal of Home Culture, which refers to Alectryon as "a boyfriend of Mars".
Synonyms
An older man may be referred to as a sugar daddy, a well-to-do man who financially supports or lavishly spends on a mistress, girlfriend, or boyfriend.[7]
In popular culture, slang, internet chat, and cellphone texting, the truncated acronymbf is also used.[8]
Leman, an archaic word for "sweetheart, paramour," from Medieval British leofman (c.1205), from Old English leof (cognate of Dutch lief, German lieb) "dear" + man "human being, person" was originally applied to either gender, but usually means mistress.[9]
The term young man was at some periods used with a similar connotation. For example, in the 1945 film "My Name Is Julia Ross" the female protagonist, seeking a secretarial job, is asked if she has "a young man"[10] – where in later films a similar question would have referred to "a boyfriend".
^The Free Dictionary By Farlex. "Leman". Retrieved 6 May 2012.
^Aliperti, Cliff (25 July 2010). "My Name is Julia Ross (1945) starring Nina Foch and George Macready". Retrieved 6 May 2012.
External links
Look up boyfriend in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
EtymologyOnLine
February 18, 2023
boyfriend, other, uses, disambiguation, technical, reasons, redirects, here, that, song, boyfriend, male, friend, acquaintance, often, specifying, regular, male, companion, with, whom, person, romantically, sexually, involved, boyfriend, also, called, admirer,. For other uses see Boyfriend disambiguation For technical reasons Boyfriend 2 redirects here For that song see Boyfriend No 2 A boyfriend is a male friend or acquaintance often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is romantically or sexually involved 1 A boyfriend can also be called an admirer beau suitor and sweetheart 2 The analogous female term is girlfriend Contents 1 Scope 2 Word history 3 Synonyms 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksScope A woman with her boyfriend at Alexanderplatz in March 1975 A man with his boyfriend Partners in committed non marital relationships are also sometimes described as a significant other or partner 3 especially if the individuals are cohabiting A 2005 study of 115 people ages 21 to 35 who were either living with or had lived with a romantic partner notes that the lack of proper terms often leads to awkward situations such as someone upset over not being introduced in social situations to avoid the question 4 Word historyThe word dating entered the American language during the Roaring Twenties Prior to that courtship was a matter of family and community interest Starting around the time of the American Civil War courtship became a private matter for couples 5 In the early to mid 19th century in the US women were often visited by gentleman callers single men who would arrive at the home of a young woman with the hopes of beginning a courtship 6 The era of the gentleman caller ended in the early 20th century and the modern idea of dating developed 5 In literature the term is discussed in July 1988 in Neil Bartlett s Who Was That Man A Present for Mr Oscar Wilde On pages 108 110 Bartlett quotes from an issue of The Artist and Journal of Home Culture which refers to Alectryon as a boyfriend of Mars SynonymsAn older man may be referred to as a sugar daddy a well to do man who financially supports or lavishly spends on a mistress girlfriend or boyfriend 7 In popular culture slang internet chat and cellphone texting the truncated acronym bf is also used 8 Leman an archaic word for sweetheart paramour from Medieval British leofman c 1205 from Old English leof cognate of Dutch lief German lieb dear man human being person was originally applied to either gender but usually means mistress 9 The term young man was at some periods used with a similar connotation For example in the 1945 film My Name Is Julia Ross the female protagonist seeking a secretarial job is asked if she has a young man 10 where in later films a similar question would have referred to a boyfriend See also Society portalDomestic partnershipReferences Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English published 23 June 2005 University of Oxford ISBN 978 0 19 861022 9 edition Thesaurus com Boyfriend Retrieved 6 May 2012 Thesaurus com Significant other Retrieved 6 May 2012 Jayson Sharon 23 June 2008 Adults stumble over what to call their romantic partners USA Today Retrieved 6 May 2012 a b Hirsch Elaine November 2011 The History of Dating and Communication Retrieved 6 May 2012 Hunt Lana J Ladies and Gentleman Archived from the original on 28 July 2012 Retrieved 6 May 2012 Merriam Webster Sugar daddy Retrieved 6 May 2012 BF Definition by AcronymFinder The Free Dictionary By Farlex Leman Retrieved 6 May 2012 Aliperti Cliff 25 July 2010 My Name is Julia Ross 1945 starring Nina Foch and George Macready Retrieved 6 May 2012 External links Look up boyfriend in Wiktionary the free dictionary EtymologyOnLine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Boyfriend amp oldid 1073114508, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
