Middle English boi develops into modern boy with stabilized spelling.
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP RECORD
COVERAGE LEDGER ↗EDGE / 0871continuationestablished
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boy
male child; young man
OPEN NODE 871 ↗DESCENDS FROM→
PARENT / EARLIER FORM / attestedMiddle English · Middle English · male servant churl young maleboi
male servant; churl; young male
OPEN NODE 872 ↗01
THE COMPLETE RELATIONSHIP
EVERY FIELD, NOT A FAIRY TALE
Male servant, churl, and young-male senses settle around the modern male-child center.
Recorded in the fourteenth century.
Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors
established — no additional confidence note is attached.
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02
CITATION REGISTER
SOURCES ON THIS EDGE
Boy — Definition, Word History, and First Known UseEtymology and First Known Use
supportsAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Publishes the Middle English horizon and fourteenth-century record.
Boy — American Heritage DictionaryEtymology: Middle English boi; male servant, churl, young male
contextAUDIT SOURCE ↗ORIGINAL ↗Documents the medieval form and semantic field.
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EDITORIAL REUSE