Having qualities or characteristics typical of a boy; resembling or appropriate to a boy in appearance or behavior.
From Middle English 'boy' (origin uncertain, possibly from Old Norse 'bofi' meaning rogue) + '-like' (Old English 'lic' meaning similar to). The suffix '-like' became productive in English to form adjectives meaning 'resembling or characteristic of.'
The word 'boylike' reveals how English speakers use '-like' as a versatile suffix to quickly describe anything reminiscent of something else—from 'dreamlike' to 'catlike'—making it one of our most productive word-building tools.
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