PERMANENT SOURCE RECORD
ALL SOURCES ↗BIBLIOGRAPHIC IDENTITYmw-boy
SOURCE
RECORD.
One work. Every claim that depends on it. No citation without a consequence you can inspect.
5 PUBLIC LINKS INTO THE GRAPH.
This count excludes duplicate dossier-path citations. Open the claims below to see exactly how the source is used.
historical dictionarymw-boy
Boy — Definition, Word History, and First Known Use
- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
- DOI
- Not recorded
- SOURCE TYPE
- historical dictionary
- EXTERNAL RECORD
- OPEN ORIGINAL ↗
010
CONTRARIAN TRUTH CLAIMS
RANKED REVEALS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
No ranked contrarian reveal currently cites this source.
021
SCHOLARLY DISAGREEMENT
DISPUTE POSITIONS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
resolvedcontextestablished
Did boy begin as the ordinary word for a male child?
Not exclusively. American Heritage records Middle English boi as male servant, churl, and young male.
Etymology endpoint at Middle EnglishConfirms the medieval horizon.
031
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP CLAIMS
EDGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
EDGE 871supportsestablished
boy → boi
Present-Day English → Middle English · continuation
- SOUND
- Middle English boi develops into modern boy with stabilized spelling.
- MEANING
- Male servant, churl, and young-male senses settle around the modern male-child center.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors
Etymology and First Known UsePublishes the Middle English horizon and fourteenth-century record.
041
LEXICAL ATTESTATIONS
WITNESSES REPORTED BY THIS SOURCE
boySOURCE-REPORTED
boy
Merriam-Webster first-known-use report for boy
OPEN WITNESS 186 ↗050
COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE
COGNATES, DESCENDANTS, AND RELATIVES
No comparative-relative record currently cites this source.
062
GEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL CLAIMS
JOURNEY STAGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
stage 2supports
English-speaking world
Supplies the century interval.
First Known Use: 14th century · globalstage 4supports
Global English
Documents continuation as the modern English headword.
Modern headword and definitions · global070
NON-GENEALOGICAL CONNECTIONS
HISTORICAL CONTEXT, KEPT SEPARATE
No non-genealogical context link currently cites this source.
081
WORD-FAMILY REUSE
DOSSIERS THAT DEPEND ON THIS SOURCE
1 entry-scoped citations map reviewed dossier paths onto the canonical claims above.