water boy
7
3.1
- noun
- /ˈwɔːtər bɔɪ/
:
chico de agua
- For almost five years, he had remained the water boy, living in the barn with his father, who by then was the first gardener.
But now in addition, you're also a coach, you are a team manager, and surprisingly, you end up being a water boy or water girl as well.
- But now in addition, you're also a coach, you are a team manager, and surprisingly, you end up being a water boy or water girl as well.
Examples
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For a guy lucky to be water boy, you've got a big mouth.
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So he's the water boy?
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- No, I'm not the water boy.
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What's the matter, water boy?
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Oh, I'll be water boy Brad, No problem.
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He's a water boy.
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He's the water boy.
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He chews out the water boy for small miscues.
Fiction book (1998) -
During the match, the water boy quickly filled the players' bottles with fresh water.
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As the water boy, his responsibility was to keep the athletes hydrated throughout the game.
Synonyms
3
4.0
A person who gives water to players or workers during events
1
4.4
A person who brings water to homes without running water
A person who gives water or drinks to others to keep them from getting too thirsty
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a male assistant who provides drinking water' is directly derivable from combining 'water' (drinking liquid) with 'boy' (male person); it follows the regular noun+ noun compound pattern where the first noun modifies the second. This compositional, role-descriptive structure is common cross-linguistically and should be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Water boy comes from the simple picture of a young helper carrying jugs of water onto the sports field to give to tired players. Because the helper was usually a boy, the phrase came to mean 'an assistant' who brings drinks and helps the team.