office boy
1
2.6
- noun
- /ˈɔfɪs bɔɪ/
- Archaic
:
mensajero
- The office boy runs errands and delivers messages for his busy coworkers.
- work as an office boy
Examples
-
Any complaints should be sent to... INT. BANK DAY. A banker throws down the flyer, grabs a sheet of paper, writes furiously, and hands it to an office boy.
Fiction book (1992) -
Well, as far as I know, we have all the office boys we need.
-
Oh, uh, the office boy is out getting lunch.
-
And of course you remember Tony, our office boy.
-
I started off as an office boy at the magazine... got published every so often.
-
I'm only the office boy.
-
A young office boy approaches his desk.
Fiction book (1994) -
Their office boy didn't show up.
-
As Ed checks his reflection in the glass wall of his office, he notices, on the other side: Erin, standing in the middle of the secretaries' area, talking to Donald, the office boy.
Fiction book (2000) -
This morning, Amos Borg, who is the fourth man at Donnegans, used my name when he shouted at Ernie, the office boy.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
17
3.2
A young person paid to do small tasks such as delivering messages and packages
6
2.3
A boy who delivers messages and does small jobs for a business
1
8.6
A man who helps someone by doing many different tasks
A young boy who runs small errands in a hotel or house
A boy who rode a horse to deliver mail in the past
How Senior
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a young male employee who does routine tasks' is directly and transparently derivable from combining 'office' (workplace) with 'boy' (young male), forming a straightforward noun compound. This composition follows common English noun-compounding patterns and has clear cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase office boy comes from workplaces where a boy worked inside the office, running errands and carrying messages. Because he literally worked in the office doing small tasks, the name came to mean 'a young male employee who does routine tasks such as running errands and delivering messages'.