核心畫面
You can picture a young male child — not yet a man. That one figure stretches outward in two directions: to particular young (or young-feeling) males (a son, a delivery boy, a country boy, the boys), and, used or loosely, to grown men spoken of like 'lads'. A separate, much later use turns the word into an you blurt out when a feeling hits you.
可以想成一個年紀還小、還沒長成大人的男孩。這個形象往兩個方向延展：一是各種特定的年輕（或感覺年輕）的男性（兒子、送貨…更多收起
可以想成一個年紀還小、還沒長成大人的男孩。這個形象往兩個方向延展：一是各種特定的年輕（或感覺年輕）的男性（兒子、送貨小弟、鄉下小子、一群哥兒們），二是帶著親暱或隨口的口吻，把成年男人也講成「小子、弟兄」。另外有一個晚得多、岔開的用法，把這個字變成情緒一上來時脫口而出的感嘆詞。原始詞典資料21 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
boynoun/bɔɪ/
- 1
A male child.
- Kieran plays football with other boys in his school.
- The ſtretes of the cite alſo ſhalbe full of yonge boyes and damſelles, playnge vpon the ſtretes.
- 2
informalA young man.
- Kate is dating a boy named Jim.
- 3
A son of any age.
- Low as that tide has ebbed with me, / It still reflects to memory’s eye / The hour, my brave, my only boy, / Fell by the side of great Dundee.
- I tried. I tried. But he wouldn't listen. My boy was stubborn. My boy was strong. And he was gonna get himself killed. Now I told him, I told him I did it too. That I was like Hoffman, getting by, and that's what you heard that night: me talking him down, him kicking and screaming until the fight went out of him. He put me up on a pedestal. And I had to show him that I was down in the gutter with the rest of them. Broke my boy. I broke my boy.
- 4
A male human younger than the speaker.
- 5
derogatoryinformalA male human of any age, as opposed to a "girl" (female human of any age).
- boys' club
- "My dear girl, what has he done?" said Mrs. Mallowe, sweetly. It is noticeable that ladies of a certain age call each other "dear girl," just as commissioners of twenty-eight years' standing address their equals in the Civil List as "my boy."
- 6
obsoleteA male of low station, (especially as pejorative) a worthless male, a wretch; a mean and dishonest male, a knave.
- Do’ſt thou call mee foole boy?
- 7
A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee, particularly
- He allowed his ‘boy’ - an overfed young negro from the coast - to treat the white men, under his very eyes, with provoking insolence.
- “Why does he go out and pinch all his dogs in person? He’s an administrator, isn’t he? Wouldn’t he hire a boy or something?” “We call them ‘staff,’” Roger replies, […]
- 8
A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee
- I resolved to continue in the Cave, with my two Servants, my Maid, and a Boy, whom I had brought from France.
另外 10 個記錄的用法
- 9
offensivehistoricalA male servant, slave, assistant, or employee
- My Boy Stephen Grauener.
- They picked out two of the strongest of the Boys (as they call the Men) about the place.
- 10
obsoleteA male servant, slave, assistant, or employee
- If any water be rough and boysterous, or the chanell verye broade, it manye times drowneth the carriages and the boyes and nowe and then slouthfull and lyther souldiours.
- Godes plud kil the boyes and the lugyge, Tis the arrants peece of knauery[…]
- 11
offensiveAny non-white male, regardless of age.
- A Hottentot... expects to be called by his name if addressed by any one who knows it; and by those to whom it is not known he expects to be called Hottentot... or boy.
- Every darky, however old, is a boy.
- 12
informalA male friend.
- hanging with my boys
- The next thing I remember, I am walking down the street / I'm feeling all right, I'm with my boys, I'm with my troops, yeah.
- 13
BDSMlifestylesexualityA male submissive.
- 14
A male non-human animal, especially, in affectionate address, a male pet, especially a dog.
- C'mere, boy! Good boy! Who's a good boy?
- Are you getting a boy cat or a girl cat?
- 15
historicalgovernmentmilitarypoliticsA former low rank of various armed services; a holder of this rank.
- Wounded... 1 Boy, 1st class, severely.
- He joined the Navy as a boy second class in 1898.
- 16
slangHeroin.
- […] drove by a corner, saw what I thought—no, what I knew—were dealers and asked if they knew where I could get some boy.
- 17
A male (tree, gene, etc).
- Are there “boy” trees and “girl” trees? Yes. A number of species, among them the yew, holly and date-bearing palm, have their male and female flowers on different trees. The male holly, for instance, must be planted fairly close to the female ...
- Of the 100 percent total, 25 will have two girl genes, 50 will have one boy and one girl gene, and 25 will have two boy genes.
- 18
Any tangible object close to one's person; often used in emphatic forms such as bad boy.
- This boy can really kick!
boyintj/bɔɪ/
- 1
Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.
- Boy, that was close!
- Boy, that tastes good!
boyverb/bɔɪ/
- 1
To act as a boy (in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage).
- I shall see some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness.
這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形：
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。