A boyfriend is a person's regular male companion in a romantic and/or sexual relationship, although normally not in long-term committed relationships, where other titles e.g. husband, partner are more commonly used.
The term "guy friend" can refer to a male non-romantic and non-sexual friend.
Scope
Emily A. Loves Joe. S (: Partners in committed non-marital relationships are also sometimes described as a significant other, life partner or simply partner, especially if the individuals are cohabiting.
At times, since 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.
Though nuanced, there is a significant difference between girlfriend and boyfriend on one hand, and girl friend and boy friend on the other. In a strictly grammatical sense, a girlfriend or boyfriend is an 'individual of significance' with whom one shares a relationship.
Word history
In the 20th century in the US, women were often interviewed by "gentleman callers", single men who would arrive at the home of a young woman with the hopes of beginning a courtship.[citation needed] Boyfriend thus had implications of an illicit relationship (as sexual and romantic relationships outside marriage were generally frowned upon). It is now a generally accepted term, no longer having negative connotations.
In literature, the term is discussed in July 1889 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
An older man, e.g. sugar daddy, "gentleman caller", "gentleman friend", main man, man, old man, while others may suggest a young man (e.g., baby).[citation needed]
In popular culture, slang, internet chat, and cellphone texting, the truncated acronym bf is also used.*Gender-indiscriminate terms also apply, e.g., true love, and gender-neutral ones like date, escort, steady or suitor; furthermore, non-gender specific euphemisms such as admirer and companion.
Leman or lemman, 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 remarkably usually meant mistress.
The term "guy friend" can refer to a male non-romantic and non-sexual friend.
Scope
 |
| A woman with her boyfriend. |
Emily A. Loves Joe. S (: Partners in committed non-marital relationships are also sometimes described as a significant other, life partner or simply partner, especially if the individuals are cohabiting.
At times, since 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.
Though nuanced, there is a significant difference between girlfriend and boyfriend on one hand, and girl friend and boy friend on the other. In a strictly grammatical sense, a girlfriend or boyfriend is an 'individual of significance' with whom one shares a relationship.
Word history
In the 20th century in the US, women were often interviewed by "gentleman callers", single men who would arrive at the home of a young woman with the hopes of beginning a courtship.[citation needed] Boyfriend thus had implications of an illicit relationship (as sexual and romantic relationships outside marriage were generally frowned upon). It is now a generally accepted term, no longer having negative connotations.
In literature, the term is discussed in July 1889 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
An older man, e.g. sugar daddy, "gentleman caller", "gentleman friend", main man, man, old man, while others may suggest a young man (e.g., baby).[citation needed]
In popular culture, slang, internet chat, and cellphone texting, the truncated acronym bf is also used.*Gender-indiscriminate terms also apply, e.g., true love, and gender-neutral ones like date, escort, steady or suitor; furthermore, non-gender specific euphemisms such as admirer and companion.
Leman or lemman, 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 remarkably usually meant mistress.
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