tomboy

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

First attested in Ralph Roister Doister (published 1567, written circa 1552), where it is used to describe a boisterous girl;[1] the OED says the citation is however "generally taken" to mean a boisterous boy, and says that a use in The Old Law (published 1656, thought to have been written circa 1599) "certainly" means a boy:[2] "must young court-tits / play tomboys' tricks with her?"[3] By 1579 it was attested in the meaning "an immodest woman", and by no later than 1592 it had developed its modern meaning of a “girl who acts like a boy”;[2] from tom +‎ boy.

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɒm.bɔɪ/
    • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈtɑm.bɔɪ/
  • Rhymes: -ɒmbɔɪ

Noun

tomboy (plural tomboys)

  1. A girl who behaves in a typically boyish manner.
    His sister, his dearest and only playmate, is a tomboy at heart.
    Synonyms: hoyden, ladette, romp
    Antonym: (with regards to behaviour) girly girl
    Antonym: (with regards to gender) macho man
    Antonyms: (with regards to gender and behaviour) femboy, janegirl
  2. (Philippines, colloquial) A lesbian; butch

Descendants
  • → Cebuano: tomboy
  • → Tagalog: tomboy

Translations

See also

References

Further reading
  1. Jennifer Higginbotham, Mark Albert Johnston, Queering Childhood in Early Modern English Drama and Culture, Springer (2018, →ISBN), page 101
  2. The Oxford English Dictionary, volume XI (1933)
  3. Thomas Middleton: The Collected Works (2007, OUP, →ISBN), page 1365

Bikol Central

Etymology

Borrowed from English tomboy.

Pronunciation
  • Hyphenation: tom‧boy
  • IPA(key): /ˈtomboj/, [ˈtom.boɪ̯]

Noun

tómbóy

  1. a girl who behaves in a typically boyish manner
  2. (colloquial) a lesbian; butch
    Synonyms: tibo, papanay

See also

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from English tomboy.

Pronunciation
  • Hyphenation: tom‧boy
  • IPA(key): /ˈtomboj/, [ˈt̪om.boɪ̯]

Noun

tomboy

  1. a girl who behaves in a typically boyish manner
  2. a lesbian; butch

Quotations
  • For quotations using this term, see Citations:tomboy.

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English tomboy.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /tomˈboi/ [t̪õmˈboi̯]
  • Rhymes: -oi
  • Syllabification: tom‧boy

Noun

tomboy f (plural tomboys)

  1. tomboy (a boyish girl or woman)

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English tomboy.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtomboj/, [ˈtom.boɪ̯]
  • Hyphenation: tom‧boy

Noun

tomboy (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜓᜋ᜔ᜊᜓᜌ᜔)

  1. (colloquial) tomboy; boyish girl
    Synonyms: binalaki, binalalaki, marimatso, lalakinin
    • 1973, Liwayway:
      Si Trudy, gaya ng palayaw sa kanya, ay isang tomboy. Sa kanilang lugar, walang batang lalaking nakadaig sa kanya sa ano mang uri ng sports.
      Trudy, like her nickname, is a tomboy. In their neighborhood, the boys cannot even beat her in any sports.
    • 1968, Dionisio S. Salazar, Pitong dula:
      Sa suot niyang " kamisadentrong panlalaki at "pedal-pusher" na maong ay wala siyang iniwan sa isang "tomboy". (Palinga-linga silang dalawa na tila may hinahanap. Pagtapat sa may puno ng adelpa ay titigil sila.)
      He did not leave the undershirt and "pedal-pusher" jeans to a tomboy (They are looking to the left and right like they are finding something. They will stop when they face the oleander tree.)
  2. (colloquial) lesbian; butch
    Synonyms: tibo, lesbiyana, lesbiya, (slang) leslie, (colloquial) shiboli, (slang) tiboom, (slang) T-bird
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