tomboyishness

T1O1M3B3O1Y4I1S1H4N1E1S1S1

noun

The state or condition of being tomboyish; the behaviour of a tomboy.

Similar
hoydenism
OriginEnglish tomboyish ← Middle English boye ← Old English *bōia →
Scrabble 23
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Meanings

nountomboyishness (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe state or condition of being tomboyish; the behaviour of a tomboy.

    Young boys who like to play with dolls and tea-sets are thought to be at risk of growing up into homosexual men; young girls who take tomboyishness to extremes are said to have a higher-than-average likelihood of ending up as lesbians

    1999 March 20, Natalie Angiers, The Guardian

Synonyms & antonyms

nounmasculinity in women (especially in girls and young women)

Similar
hoydenism
Broader
masculinity
Also see
hoydenism

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Aramaicתאמא
  2. Aramaicתאומא (təʾōmā)
  3. Ancient GreekΘωμᾶς (Thōmâs)
  4. LatinThōmās
  5. Middle EnglishThomas
  6. Middle EnglishThomme
  7. EnglishTom
  8. Englishtom
  9. Proto-Indo-European*bʰā-
  10. Proto-Germanic*bō-
  11. Proto-West Germanic*bōjō
  12. Old English*bōia
  13. Middle Englishboye
  14. Englishboy
  15. Englishtomboy
  16. Englishtomboyish
  17. Englishtomboyishness

From tomboyish + -ness.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tomboyishness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tomboyishness

MLA

“tomboyishness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tomboyishness. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tomboyishness,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tomboyishness.

Source: tomboyishness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.