The state, condition, or rank of being a boy; the period or experience of boyhood.
From 'boy' + '-ship' (Old English suffix 'scipe' forming abstract nouns denoting state, rank, or condition, as in 'kingship' and 'friendship'). The suffix became productive for creating nouns of status or period.
The '-ship' suffix is remarkable in English—it transforms nouns into states of being (friend→friendship, king→kingship, boy→boyship), and it originally meant 'condition or state' in Old English before becoming our go-to suffix for titles and relationships.
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