This pancocojams post presents information about the meaning of the English language term of endearment "bookee" (also spelled "bookee", "bukie" and "bookie").
This post also includes my theories about the origin of the English languge term of endearment " bookee".
The content of this post is presented for etymological and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
**** WHAT DOES "BOO KEE" MEAN?
"Bookee" (also spelled "bukie" and "bookie") is an English language term of affection for a person, especially a baby or a small child. This term may be most often used by African Americans. It is an extension of the term "boo" with the addition of "ee" (a form of the common affectionate, diminutive English language ending "ie" or "y".)
The creation of the word "bookee" was probably influenced by multiple informal terms of endearmenat that end in "ie" or "y", particularly "poopsie", "tootsie", and "pookie". -snip- The term of endearment "Boo kee" has an entirely different meaning and pronounciation than the English language word "bookie". "A bookie is a person who determines gambling odds and receives and pays
off bets : Bookmaker" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bookie
This definition of "bookie" is pronounced like the word "book" (which rhymes with "look") and the word "key" which rhymes with "be" (and "bee").
****
HOW THE TERM OF ENDEARMENT "BOO KEE" (also spelled "bookee", "bukie", "bookie" etc.) IS PRONOUNCED
The English language word "boo kee" ("bukie" etc.) rhymes with the English words "you" + "key", "new +key", Lou + key". "Key" is pronounced "kee" (with no elongation of the letters "e").
**** AN ONLINE EXCERPT FROM A 2018 DISCUSSION THREAD ABOUT THE TERM OF ENDEARMENT "BUKIE"
[The numbers of the comments that are given below are the same as the numbers that are found in that discussion thread.]
What does it mean in America to call someone bukie? In the
reality show Big Brother a young man was talking to his fiancée and he said
Come here, bukie and they hugged."
**
#2
dojibear
(Fresno CA
US English
Feb 24, 2018) "I've never seen this word. I am not sure how to pronounce
this spelling. Is it "byuu-kee"? Is it "boo-kee"? Is it
"buh-kee"?)
** #3
MidnightCharm (Spanish - Spain
Feb 24, 2018)
"I think it's `` boo-kee ´´
** #6 MidnightCharm (Spanish - Spain
Feb 24, 2018"
")ou little ripper! said:
How do know this is how it's spelt, MC? Are you sure you
heard it correctly? :)
I know because in Big Brother whenever they're speaking with
low/soft voice the program writes whatever they say using subtitles, and this
was one of those instances. In Urban Dictionary they say it's a kinda laughable
term.
Sparky Malarky said:
It could be a variant of pookie, which is a little more
common. But anything can be used as an endearment.”… -snip- No one in that small discussion thread was familiar with the term "bukie" ("boo kee" etc.)
**** ONLINE EXCERPTS ABOUT SOME ENGLISH WORDS ENDING IN "IE"
[Pancocojams Editor's Note: As I wrote above, I believe that certain terms of affection that end in "ie" or "y" influenced the coinage of the word "boo kee" ("bukie", "bookie", etc.)
[Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.]
** 2. "The early instance of tootsy-pootsies that Callithumpian
notes in a comment beneath the posted question is evidently from "The
Physiology of London Evening Parties," part IV, in Punch, or the London
Charivari (January [?] 1842), subsequently included (with minor revisions) in
volume 2 of Albert Smith, The Wassail-bowl: A Comic Christmas Sketch-book (1844):
At length all the preparations are completed, and a
temporary quiet reigns through the house; but it is like the lull of the
elements after a boisterous day in March, before it begins to rain. The last
ring has brought the last parcel to the door, which of course ought to have
arrived first in the morning; the small children have been rapidly undressed
and put to bed with the wild notion that they will stay there, and not walk
calmly down stairs some three or four hours afterwards in their night-gowns,
with their little naked white tootsy-pootsies (the nursery patois for tiny
feet) pattering on the cold floor-cloth…
The use of tootsy as a familiar word affection seems to have
occurred at about the same time. From "Matrimonial Dictionary," in
Punch (September 26, 1846):
TOOTSY, MOOTSY, and all words ending in tsy, are terms of
great endearment. The exact meaning of them has never been ascertained. They
are never heard after thirty…..
Indeed Albert Smith, The Struggles and Adventures of
Christopher Tadpole at Home and Abroad (1847) has a character call his wife
"Tootsy," with this brief explanation:
"Well, I don't quite know, Tootsy,"—it was a relic
of their honeymoon, that "Tootsy," which Mrs. Gudge still liked to be
called. "I've met 'em before though, I think at Sir F's."
I would be remiss not to cite the entry for tootsies in John
Hotten, The Slang Dictionary (1864):
TOOTSIES, feet, those of ladies and children in particular.
In married life it is said the husband uses this expression for the first six
months, after that he terms them HOOFS.
answered Jan 2 '19 at 0:31
Sven Yargs -snip- The bold font was originally used in this comment.
[The numbers used in this 2022 post are different than the numbers used in that 2017 post.]
a. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Talk:pookie ....”Pookie is a common euphemism to describe something cute. It is also often used as a pet name or as a term of endearment for one's significant other." added somehow. (was recently removed from wikipedia as a dicdef). thanks :) -Quiddity 03:08, 9 April 2006 (UTC)
It's the name of cartoon cat Garfield's teddy bear, incidentally.... 5 June 2009 (UTC)
Pet name
In my experience, pookie is a pet name, as attested in What’s Wrong, Little Pookie? by Sandra Boynton (and other such books Happy Birthday, Little Pookie); it’s also used in books by Ivy Wallace (UK 1950s). Don’t know if these are sufficient attestations – it’s admittedly more used orally (esp. in casual, intimate conversation) than in writing. —Nils von Barth (nbarth) (talk) ... 4 June 2010 (UTC)
[Pancocojams Editor's Note: This discussion was prompted by the use of the referent "Cousin Pookie" by then Democratic candidate for President Barack Obama in some of his campaign speeches in front of mostly Black audiences]
"Pookie means a whole lot of different things; none of them are good," Kevin Gray, a South Carolina writer and activist, said in March. "Pookie's always the foil."
To linguist and writer John McWhorter, Pookie is the kind of ghetto character played by Cedric the Entertainer or Chris Tucker in one of those Barbershop or Friday movies. In the 1960s and '70s, he would have gone by Leroy, Tyrone or Otis.
Pookie, according to Michael Eric Dyson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and writer about race, is "nearly a pop-culture folk-figure in black circles." He is the average black every-youth. While Gray said Pookie goes way back, Mark Anthony Neal, professor of black popular culture at Duke University, believes he has come into his own only in the last decade, as a "metaphor for kin ... who everybody knows is just a little trifling and a little lazy."....
"I need you to grab Cousin Pookie to vote; I need you to grab Ray Ray to vote," -Barack Obama #pooky#shaniqua#taliqua#tyrone#barack#obama" by mijoca1 July 12, 2008
This pancocojams post presents information about the English language term of endearment "boo".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-origins-meaning-of-term-of.html for the closely related pancocojams post on the English language term of endearment "boo kee" (also written "bukie" and "bookie" and pronounced to rhyme with the words "you" + key") will be published ASAP and its link will be added here.
The content of this post is presented for etymological and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
**** HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE THE TERM OF ENDEARMENT "BOO" The English language word "boo" rhymes with the English words "too", "you", who", "knew", "Lou" etc. It is pronounce the same as the word "Boo!" that is used to scare people, except that people don't shout the term of endearment.
**** WHAT DOES "BOO" MEAN? "Boo" is used as a referent for someone who you care about. However, the level of that caring may vary depending on who is using that term.
**** SELECTED EXCERPTS ABOUT THE TERM OF ENDEARMENT "BOO"
These excerpts are given in no particular order.
DISCLAIMER: I don't necessarily agree with all of the definitions, comments, and conclusions that are given for the origins and meanings of the term "boo".
Someone you love. Someone you care about. Someone who is a
life time best friend.
Someone who is always there for you. Someone who is
extremely pretty. Someone who is very important in your life. Someone who can
make you laugh. Someone who you can never replace.
I love Harrie, she’s my boo
by Mafaaa September 13, 2018
** Excerpt #2: The Outline with Kevin Dwayne: The Definition of "Boo"
-snip- Kevin Dwayne asked several people what "boo" meant to them, and agreed with the definition "a boyfriend or girlfriend in training" (i.e. a person you go out with who isn't your official boyfriend or girlfriend yet.)
**** SOME HISTORY & EXAMPLES OF THE TERM OF ENDEARMENT "BOO" (Including theories about how the term of enderment "Boo" is a mispronunciation of the French word "Beau")
[These excerpts are given in no particular order.]
"A beau is an old-fashioned term for "boyfriend."
When your great-grandmother was young, she probably had a beau.
Beau means "handsome" in French. Pronounce it the
same way the French do, with a long o: "boh." The word recalls more
innocent times, when gentleman courted their ladies and skirts barely rose
above ankle level. You'll hardly ever hear beau used today, unless you're
watching a movie, play or television drama set in the past."... -snip- The French word "beau" basically rhymes with the English words "toe", "foe", "so", "mow", "show", "low", "bow" (as in "bow tie") etc.
****
Excerpt #2: How to Pronounce Beau
pronounciationbook, Dec. 22, 2012
-snip- These selected comments from that sound file's discussion thread demonstrates how the French word "beau" is widely mispronounced in English. 1. Taur44 "And all this time I've been pronouncing it "BE U" "
** 2. Chaulong Alvarez, 2013 "...Beau is pronounced as
"boo", not "bow"."
** 3. M y t h i c a l B e a r ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ, 2016 "Thought it was "Beuw" kinda like
"peeyou"
** 4. . Beausmithftl, 2014 "As someone whose first name is Beau, I find it both sad and hilarious how many people not only do not know how to pronounce it, but insist on the wrong pronunciation. This video pronounces it correctly. It rhymes with "know"."
** 5. Cloudnado, 2017 "i always thought this was pronounced like the first half of
beautiful"
** 6. Shannen Libres, 2018 "Can I still say Bee-you? Cause it seems like a pretty common
mispronunciation now and it's cute cause it's like the word beautiful" -snip- With regard to the way that Americans usually "beau", we also pronounce "beaucoup" (meaning a lot) differently than the way that word is pronounced in French. (I've pronounced and an heard other Black Americans, in particular, pronouce it "boo-cou" (rhyming with "who"-Sue") and the French pronounce it "boh-cou". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncoUV0i6dkg&ab_channel=JulienMiquel ).
**** Excerpt #3
[Selected comments from this discussion thread are given as "a", "b", and "c"]
** b. "In January, 1916, newspaper readers across the country were
entertained by the ongoing Supreme Court case involving a millionaire heir and
his mistress. His letters to her were produced in court, as excerpted in this
(New York, NY) Evening World newspaper story playfully titled ‘“Boo’ful Baby”
Notes of Broker Boil With Love’:
My Dearest Precious: Just received a very swet [sic] letter
from my ‘Baby Doll’ — S—U—IS my boo’ful baby. I only wish you were here and I
would show you how boo’ful and sweet U—IS.
Another letter entered as evidence:
I know you, love, and want me with you and I soon will be
with you. You don’t know, sweetheart, how happy I feel to know you are well and
still taking the emulsion. What will my ‘Ittle dirl’ do when her ‘Booful Baby
tomes home? I know what he will do. Take good care of your dear little self.
Your own dearest and most loving sweetheart, Jack.
Boo* in the Arts
In the first half of the twentieth century,
"booful," "boo-boo," and "boo boo boo" began to
appear in songs and plays. The song lyrics and scripts are lost to time, but
the titles remain in catalogs as evidence.
In the Catalogue of Copyright Entries for 1916, there is an
entry for a comedic play called “My boo’ful baby”, by Jules Simonson and Jardin
D. Rickman, copyrighted Mar. 7, 1916.
In the Catalogue of Copyright Entries for 1907, there is an
entry for a song called “My boo-boo baby”, words and music by Emile H. Naatz,
copyrighted May 4, 1907.
In the Catalogue of Copyright Entries for 1938, there is an
entry for a song called “Listen to my boo boo boo”, words and music by Robert
Lloyd Lingle, copyrighted Jan. 22, 1938.
The 1990s: "My Boo"
In 1996, the Ghost Town DJ's, a hip hop group from the
Southern U.S., released a song called "My Boo." One of the group's
members was Vickie Washington, nicknamed "Boo."
An Alternate Trail
The poet/playwright Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909)
is said to have had an inamorata whom he called by the pet name "Boo"
in the 1860s. Several people over the past 150 years have tried to deduce the
identity of Boo, but no one has arrived at a definitive conclusion.
Sources to track down
Mayfield, J. (1953). Swinburne’s Boo. English Miscellany, 4,
161-77.
Rooksby, R. (1993). Swinburne's 'Boo' Rides Again. The
Review of English Studies, 44(173), 77-82. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/518444
Rooksby has written quite a bit about Swinburne, so this
would be another avenue to explore, for a different answer.
- answered Nov 21 '18 at 6:39 shoover
** c. "Wow, so many very historic and detailed answers for
something rather basic. The term “baby-boo“ is a term of endearment for a child
too young to be truly verbal. A parent would coo this to the baby or toddler.
The term “baby” has been used as a term of endearment between smitten lovers
for just as long. Rappers such as Snoop Dogg have mixed the term to make
baby-boo mean a term for your main (but not singular) love interest. Like
everything in rap vernacular, eventually the term was shortened and popularized
as just “boo”. Although, now, “baby” and “baby-boo“ can be taken to mean a term
of true affection for the recipient of a platonic relationship of the same or
opposite sex. Where as just simply “boo” denotes interest of a more romantic or
sexual nature for a member of the opposite sex (as it relates to heterosexual
relationships). Though, the term is not gender-binary.
edited Jul 11 '20 at 19:10 answered Jul 11 '20 at 18:50 Dean F.
[Pancocojams Editor: The numbers given below are the comments' numbers in that discussion thread.]
#1. Open Mind (Leipzig, Germany; German), Jan. 15, 2005
"So, where does this expression stem from: my boo. I
understand that it is used by African Americans to call their loved ones?"
** #2. Open Mind (Leipzig, Germany, German), Jan 16, 2005 "But you must know Usher or/and Alicia Keys. They recently
have had a huge hit called my boo - here are the complete lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/usher/myboo.html
** #7. boonognog (Charlotte, North Carolina, English (U.S.) "Oh, come on, people (and here I'm referring to all American
English speakers)... The French influence is all over the US South. Have you
never heard the expression "sweetie-pie boo"? It's not just a black
thing."
** #8. GenJen 54 (Downright Pleasant, USA, US English), Jun 9, 2006 "Hi boonognog,
There are many variances of U.S. "Southern-ese." I
live in the mid-South plains/Southwest/wherever the demographer du jour wishes
to plant my state.
"sweetie pie" is farily common where l live
(sweetie without the pie even more common).
"boo" may or may not be common. I hear it very
infrequently.
"sweetie pie boo?" I've never heard of it. Unless
they find themselves implanted in mass media (such as in the aforementioned
song), regionalisms such as these rarely make it to other parts of the country."
** #9. boonognog (Charlotte, NC, English (U.S.), Jun 9, 2006 "In fact, the word "boo" was the SlangCity.com
Slang of the Week back in January 6, 2005...
...some people nickname their beloved after things to eat,
such as pumpkin, honey, sugar or sweetie pie.
In the 1940s, people used poopsie to address a boyfriend or
girlfriend (which most likely comes from the older poppet and not from poop!)
The synonym boopsie may be the original source of this week’s word, though its
history is uncertain. It might also come from the old-fashioned beau
(boyfriend.)"
**** Excerpt #5
Pancocojams Editor's Note: legit.ng is a
Nigeria, West African blog
According to multiple slang dictionaries, boo is an affectionate
term for referring to your significant other.
Mostly people call their boyfriends and girlfriends boo, especially on
social media. However, sometimes this
term can be used for expressing endearment towards your family and close
friends.
Where did the word “boo” come from?
The term is supposedly derived from the word beau which
means beautiful in French. The word had
a common usage in the 18th century in England when it meant a male
admirer. Later, when the French
colonization of the Caribbean Islands happened, the word made its way into the
Afro-Caribbean language*. Recently, the slang word boo gained its popularity in
Africa, including Nigeria.
Sometimes, people can use this word for defining a
relationship which is not official. For example, you go on dates and do
romantic stuff with some boy or girl, but you are not officially dating and
instead of calling them boyfriend or girlfriend, the slang term boo can be
used.
[…]
The word “boo” is not used in a plural form, so you not say you have a lot of boos. Originally, the term is supposed to be used only
for one person, to indicate how special that person is for you, that is why it
is mostly used to refer to the closest people.
Synonyms of “boo”
The most popular slang synonym of “boo” is “bae”**, which basically means the
same thing. “Bae” is a term which we use to refer to the most important person
in our life, no matter if it is your significant other, crush, lover, or even
best friend sometimes. It stands for
before anyone else and is widely used in popular culture. The slight difference is that the word “boo”
is used in real life more often, and the word “bae” is more of a social media
term”..
-snip- * There is no one “Afro-Caribbean language”. I assume that this writer was
referring to Jamaican Patois and/or some other Caribbean Patois when they
inaccurately used the term “Afro- Caribbean language”.
** Here’s an urbandictionary.com entry for the word “bae”
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bae "AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) pronunciation of
"babe," used as a term of endearment toward loved ones.
"Bae" can be a pronoun or an adjective. The term caught fire to
mainstream colloquial Standard American English jargon and, due to
unfamiliarity with its origins, developed multiple definitions. Trolls and
people who dislike its use will often incorrectly juxtapose "bae"
with Danish "bæ" which means "poop" (often to shut people
up). Others will treat it as an acronym such as "before anyone else."
The term is frowned upon by many, as it is seen as ghetto and uncouth, although
its origins are simply dialectal.
"My husband is bae!"
"Whaddup, Bae?"
"He's my bae; he comes before anyone else!"
"Stop saying 'bae', it means 'poop!' " " by nomnom99 February 10, 2017
Looking happy, healthy and sock-less (or did Barack invest
in some no-shows?) the couple celebrated New Year’s Eve in style, rocking
matching themed 2022 glasses and coordinating all-black ensembles.
With her hand draped over her “boo” Barack, who pulled her
in close, Michelle Obama sent her millions of followers well-wishes to close
out 2021.
“Happy New Year from me and my boo! Wishing you all a year
filled with happiness, love, and good health,” she wrote Saturday evening
alongside the photo, which has already racked up over 4 million likes on
Instagram.”… -snip- Click that link to see the photograph that accompanied this tweet.
