Paperboy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person, often a youth, assigned the task of delivering daily or weekly newspapers to households in a specific locality
2. An individual, typically younger in age, responsible for the distribution of newspapers to various subscribers within a set geographic area
3. A young individual engaged in the profession of delivering newspapers to residences on a scheduled basis within a designated neighborhood

Etymology: "Paperboy" is a plain compound: "paper" joined to "boy," with the two parts each keeping their ordinary meanings. The "paper" here is the newspaper, the printed sheets that once arrived at doorsteps daily, and the "boy" is the young deliverer who carried them. The word therefore describes a job defined by a product and a labour force rather than by any special term of art. The compound works the way many English occupational names do, where a common noun pairs with "boy" to name a young worker, as in "errand boy" or "bellboy." Its meaning is tied closely to the newspaper trade, so the word has largely kept the sense of a delivery role even as home delivery of print has declined. No dates or first recorded uses are documented here, so the word's exact entry into English is not something this etymology can pin down.

Synonyms: newsboy, paper carrier