boyhood

From boy +‎ -hood.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔɪˌhʊd/

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boyhood (countable and uncountable, plural boyhoods)

1. The state or period of being a boy.
   • 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:

     And boyhood is a summer sun
     Whose waning is the dreariest one —
     For all we live to know is known
     And all we seek to keep hath flown — […]

   • 1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 703:

     It is certainly my personal favourite, for it was by way of Hardwick's great Doric arch that I first sampled the roar and clatter of London streets, the trip being a boyhood reward for achieving (unexpected) success in a school examination!

• good old boyhood