Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

potboy

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: pot-boy
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A boy employed in a plant nursery to tap clay pots with a stick for their ringing sound, indicating whether the plant required watering.

noun

A boy employed as waiter to serve (pots of) drinks, as in a tavern.

noun

A boy or man employed in a public house to collect empty pots or glasses.

British usage

Example Sentences

"GC&HTJ 1985 volume 198 page 17"
"I put on my kitchen potboy disguise and rode down to B-1 in an elevator that smelled like chicken soup, barbecue sauce, and Jack Daniel's."
"(“Hoo-roa,” ejaculates a pot-boy in a parenthesis, “put the kye-bosh on her, Mary.”)"

Etymology

From pot + boy.

Usage

British usage

Inflected Forms

potboys (plural) pot boy (alternative) pot-boy (alternative)

Phrases

pot-girl

Frequently Paired Words

pot-girl potman busboy

Synonyms

potman

Questions

What does potboy mean?: A boy employed in a plant nursery to tap clay pots with a stick for their ringing sound, indicating whether the plant required watering.
Where does potboy come from?: From pot + boy.

How to pronounce potboy

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “potboy”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “potboy”.
Repeat and practice — Say “potboy” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.