What Does The Term Guys Mean?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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A guy is a dude, a boy, a man, or really anybody. It's an informal way to

refer to a person

, especially a male. But a group of people can be guys, even if they're all female.

When did the word guy become gender neutral?

Macquarie Dictionary senior editor Victoria Morgan said in Australia, teenagers started using “guys” as a gender neutral term

in the '80s

and it has been since been used to refer to groups of people of both gender.

Why do we say guys?

They referred to the effigies of Fawkes as “guys.” And then some people began to use “guys” to refer to actual people: men of the lowest and most depraved kind. … “Guys” began to shift meaning,

to become a term for working-class men

, then every human male, from baby boys to ancient men.

Why do we use guys?

Guys is

an easygoing way to address a group of people

, but to many, it's a symbol of exclusion—a word with an originally male meaning that is frequently used to refer to people who don't consider themselves “guys.” My coworker is one of many who have started editing themselves in response to this exclusion.

What does it mean to say you guys?

informal : you —used in speech and informal writing to refer to or address two or more people How are things with you guys?

What can I say instead of Hi guys?

  • everyone.
  • folks.
  • all.
  • friends.
  • team.
  • y'all.
  • yinz.
  • yous.

What is opposite man?

Opposite of an adult

male person

.

enemy

.

girl

.

lass

.

female

.

Can guy be used for a girl?

As others have indicated, “guys” is often used (informally) to refer to females as well as males. But

“guy” (singular) is very unlikely to be used in reference to a female

.

Is Guy short for anything?

Guy (/ɡaɪ/, French: [ɡi]) is a French and English given name, which is derived from the French form of the Italian and Germanic name Guido. … Unrelated to this, “Guy” is also an Anglicization of the Hebrew name Hebrew: גיא‎, romanized: Gai, which means “Ravine”.

How many genders are there?

The

four

are masculine, feminine, neuter and common. There are four different types of genders that apply to living and nonliving objects. Masculine gender: It is used to denote a male subtype.

What's another word for you guys?


folks

everybody
fam comrades friends guys dearly beloved you lot boys and girls girls and boys

Is your guys correct grammar?


You guys' is correct written

, pronounced you guys's. (Dropping the s on the written version because guys is a plural, not because I think it should always be dropped if the word ends in an s.) You rather than your because you guys is a unit and the possessive case doesn't need to be commuted across each element of it.

What is the difference between guys and guy's?

2 Answers. The use of the apostrophe defines ownership of one or more people. So, if there is only one “guy” involved, the phrase would be “

your guy's favorite cars

.” If, however, there is more than one “guy” involved, the phrase would be “your guys' favorite cars.”

Where do they say youse guys?

“Youse” is associated with

working-class white folks in South Philly

, but “y'all” is the grammatical alternative to “you guys” in the dialect of Philly's African American communities.

Where did the term guys come from?


In the fires they burned effigies of the Pope, Guy Fawkes and other archenemies of the moment

. They referred to the effigies of Fawkes as “guys.” And then some people began to use “guys” to refer to actual people: men of the lowest and most depraved kind. This was early in the 18th century, more than 200 years ago.

Is guys a slang word?

“It is not proper etiquette to refer to everyone as ‘guys,'” she told Business Insider. “This is a slang term and should be avoided. … National etiquette expert Diane Gottsman says that “

guys” is a term of familiarity, friendship, and even endearment

. She also notes that it's rarely meant to be an offensive phrase.

Maria LaPaige
Author
Maria LaPaige
Maria is a parenting expert and mother of three. She has written several books on parenting and child development, and has been featured in various parenting magazines. Maria's practical approach to family life has helped many parents navigate the ups and downs of raising children.