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A boyfriend is a regular male companion in a romantic and/or sexual relationship.^[1] This is normally not in long-term committed (e.g. marital) relationships, where other titles (e.g. husband, partner) are more commonly used. A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, fiancé, suitor and soul mate.^[2] A boyfriend is sometimes taken to check for compatibility in a relationship.

Scope [edit]

A woman with her boyfriend.

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.

Boyfriend and partner mean different things to different people; the distinctions between the terms are subjective. How the term is used will ultimately be determined by personal preference.^[4][5]

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.^[6]

There is a significant difference between girlfriend and boyfriend, and girl friend and boy friend. In a strictly grammatical sense, a girlfriend^[7] or boyfriend^[8] is an 'individual of significance' with whom one shares a relationship.

Word history [edit]

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 Civil War, courtship became a private matter for couples.^[9] In the early to mid 20th 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.^[10] The era of the gentleman caller ended in the early 20th century and the modern idea of dating developed.^[9]

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 [edit]

• 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.^[11]
• In popular culture, slang, internet chat, and cellphone texting, the truncated acronym bf is also used.^[12]
• 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.^[13]
• 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"^[14] - where in later films a similar question would have referred to "a boyfriend".

See also [edit]

• Girlfriend
• Courtship
• Mistress
• Domestic partnership
• Engagement
• Marriage
• Wedding

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Look up boyfriend in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• EtymologyOnLine