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

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

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): /ˈtomboi/, [ˈtumboɪ̯]

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/, [ˈt̪um.buɪ̯]

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

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

Noun

tomboy

  1. (colloquial) tomboy; boyish girl
    Synonyms: binalaki, binalalaki
    • 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
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