tomboy
/ˈtɑm.bɔɪ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.79 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "His sister, his dearest and only playmate, is a tomboy at heart."
- "“When you have a little girl like mine who is obsessed with the ocean and giant squids and insect infestations in homes, she’s considered weird or odd or a tomboy when in fact, science and things like that should be considered girly.”"
Etymology
Etymology tree Aramaic תאמא Aramaic תאומאbor. Ancient Greek Θωμᾶς (Thōmâs)bor. Latin Thōmāsbor. Middle English Thomas Middle English Thomme English Tom English tom Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- Proto-Germanic *bō- Proto-West Germanic *bōjō Old English *bōia Middle English boye English boy English tomboy From tom + boy. First attested in Ralph Roister Doister (published 1567, written circa 1552), where it is used to describe a boisterous girl; 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: "must young court-tits / play tomboys' tricks with her?" 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”.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈtɑm.bɔɪ/
- British English: /ˈtɒm.bɔɪ/