A young person (usually a boy, though the term is now sometimes gender-neutral) who delivers newspapers to homes, typically earning pocket money.
Compound word from 'paper' and 'boy,' appearing in English around the early 1800s as newspaper circulation became a major industry requiring delivery networks.
The paperboy is practically extinct now—it was THE coming-of-age job for kids for over 150 years, teaching money management and responsibility, but smartphones and digital news have nearly eliminated this entire rite of passage!
The term 'paperboy' became the default occupation for youth newspaper delivery from the early 1900s onward, despite girls and young women performing the same work—their labor was often unpaid, informal, or rendered invisible. The male-coded diminutive excluded girls from recognition and market entry.
Use 'paper carrier' or 'newspaper deliverer' to reflect the actual mixed-gender workforce.
["paper carrier","newspaper deliverer","delivery youth"]
Girls delivered papers and subsidized family income; this erasure from job naming reflects broader occupational segregation.
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