*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of boing

Onomatopoeic. The “large breasts” sense is reborrowed from Japanese ボイン, in turn from English boing.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To make a boing sound or bouncing motion.

intj

A representation of the sound of something bouncing. · Announcing the presence of large, pert breasts, which are bouncy. · Announcing the advent of male arousal (erection), via the metaphor of a spring springing energetically.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Onomatopoeic. The “large breasts” sense is reborrowed from Japanese ボイン, in turn from English boing.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "onom",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Onomatopoeic"
    },
    {
      "name": "m-g",
      "args": {
        "1": "large breasts"
      },
      "expansion": "“large breasts”"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ja",
        "3": "ボイン"
      },
      "expansion": "Japanese ボイン"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "en",
        "3": "boing"
      },
      "expansion": "English boing"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ボイン",
      "ボイン#Japanese"
    ],
    [
      "boing",
      "boing#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make a boing sound or bouncing motion."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "08a06faf24ccedb67419f23115aa5bc873f39074738701ceb145c12445b99a37",
      "rawRecordSha256": "911bf3e09968ad0a86c57b9c6ef786bcf8b893b54e83f50f574749c7dcbf2044",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 277642
    },
    {
      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "A representation of the sound of something bouncing.",
        "Announcing the presence of large, pert breasts, which are bouncy.",
        "Announcing the advent of male arousal (erection), via the metaphor of a spring springing energetically."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "fc09a3da9e4dc9f4fd0a52e0601b259b13db29f7a37a0903c9bfbe291e70eaa4",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e0d09ee206c318435b05b33bb87d160ac591f465253c6b4946ac89ab3cd34b31",
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    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

The sound made by an elastic object (such as a spring) when bouncing; the sound of a bounce. · Large breasts.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Onomatopoeic. The “large breasts” sense is reborrowed from Japanese ボイン, in turn from English boing.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "onom",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Onomatopoeic"
    },
    {
      "name": "m-g",
      "args": {
        "1": "large breasts"
      },
      "expansion": "“large breasts”"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ja",
        "3": "ボイン"
      },
      "expansion": "Japanese ボイン"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "en",
        "3": "boing"
      },
      "expansion": "English boing"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ボイン",
      "ボイン#Japanese"
    ],
    [
      "boing",
      "boing#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "ボイン",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "descendants": [
        {
          "lang": "English",
          "lang_code": "en",
          "word": "boing",
          "raw_tags": [
            "borrowed"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The sound made by an elastic object (such as a spring) when bouncing; the sound of a bounce.",
        "Large breasts."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "4f0896f6330451e0d3c6b0ed51a78527ae4567fabf27e9ac682493d9f80386a0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "9069a54b2fa3be7b8125cbd1ca0ec443c23a04a8480236d976db8f043822571a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 277641
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for boing →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Ym9pbmc