theyfriend
English
WOTD – 14 July 2025
Etymology
From they + friend, modelled after boyfriend and girlfriend.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈðeɪfɹɛnd/
Audio (General American): (file) (file) - Hyphenation: they‧friend
Noun
theyfriend (plural theyfriends)
- (neologism) A non-binary partner in an unmarried romantic relationship.
- Synonyms: enbyfriend, joyfriend
- Coordinate terms: boyfriend, girlfriend
- 2018, Talia Hibbert, Wanna Bet? (Dirty British Romance; 2), [United Kingdom]: Nixon House, →ISBN:
- She'd never had a boyfriend or girlfriend or theyfriend, not in her entire life.
- 2022, Anna Meriano, “Just Tell Them You Play Soccer”, in Laura Silverman, editor, Game On: 15 Stories of Wins, Losses, and Everything in Between, New York, N.Y.: Viking, →ISBN, page 196:
- "And I know as soon as I get in it'll be all 'Do you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a theyfriend?'" Olivia sighs. "And my high school squad is going to be even worse."
Translations
non-binary partner in an unmarried romantic relationship
Further reading
- non-binary on Wikipedia.Wikipedia