Another kind of buddy

Arnold M. Zwicky zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU
Wed Jun 13 14:41:01 UTC 2007


On Jun 13, 2007, at 7:32 AM, Chris Blankenship wrote:

> ... My younger sister (now 22, living in TN) regularly
> uses the term "buddy" for a close male friend, but not a boyfriend
> and not
> someone who she is sleeping with. I've heard this use from a couple
> of other
> females around her age, as well. It doesn't seem to be a term that
> can be
> applied to other females, and a boyfriend cannot also be a buddy,
> but a
> buddy can later become a boyfriend...

for what it's worth, my granddaughter (3 years old) calls her male
best friends "buddies".  we have no idea where she picked up the term.

arnold

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