tomboyism

T1O1M3B3O1Y4I1S1M3

noun

Traditionally masculine behaviour in a girl.

OriginEnglish tomboy ← Middle English boye ← Old English *bōia →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nountomboyism (uncountable)
  1. uncountableTraditionally masculine behaviour in a girl.

    There is whooping and squirrel-watching and rock-throwing —— an au courant tomboyism that remains free of mocking contemporaries for wearing lip gloss.

    2008 May 11, “Something Wild”, in New York Times

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. Englishtomboyism

From tomboy + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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