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28-723: The term henchman originally referred to one who attended a horse for his employer, that is, a horse groom . Hence, like constable and marshal , also originally stable staff, henchman became the title of a subordinate official in a royal court or noble household. The first part of the word, which has been in usage since at least the Middle Ages, comes from the Old English hengest , meaning "horse", notably stallion , cognates of which also occur in many Germanic languages , such as Old Frisian, Danish hingst , German , Dutch hengst and Afrikaans hings [həŋs]. The word appears in

56-471: A Gentleman in the North of Scotland , together with its erroneous derivation from haunch . The word is, in this sense, synonymous with gillie , the faithful personal follower of a Highland chieftain, the man who stands at his master's haunch, ready for any emergency. The modern sense of "obedient or unscrupulous follower" is first recorded 1839, probably based on a misunderstanding of the word as used by Scott, and

84-469: A benchmark for boys to assess their peers. The adherence to these group norms often holds more weight than the mere affiliation to the group. In fact, boys who do not conform to these norms are often evaluated lower than those who, despite being strangers, conform to the group’s norms. This phenomenon underscores the powerful influence of group norms in shaping attitudes and actions, and the social implications of conformity. Boys who defy gender norms may face

112-404: A black man as "boy". During an event promoting the 2017 boxing bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor , the latter told the former to "dance for me, boy." The remarks led several boxers – including Mayweather and Andre Ward – as well as multiple commentators to accuse McGregor of racism. Human sex is determined at fertilization when the genetic sex of the zygote

140-453: A boy develops pubic hair. A boy's testicles also begin making sperm. The release of semen, which contains sperm and other fluids, is called ejaculation. During puberty, a boy's erect penis becomes capable of ejaculating semen and impregnating a female . A boy's first ejaculation is an important milestone in his development. On average, a boy's first ejaculation occurs at age 13. Ejaculation sometimes occurs during sleep; this phenomenon

168-560: A few horses. The word appeared in English as grome c.1225, meaning "boy child, boy , youth ". Its origin is unknown; it has no known cognates in other Germanic languages (e.g. Dutch and German use compound terms, such as Stal(l)knecht 'stable servant', or equivalents of synonyms mentioned below). Perhaps, it stems from an Old English root groma , related to growan "grow" or from Old French grommet "servant" (compare Medieval English gromet for "ship's boy", recorded since 1229). The word

196-415: A gene on the Y chromosome induces changes that result in the development of the testes". At approximately nine weeks' gestation, the production of testosterone by a male embryo results in the development of the male reproductive system. The male reproductive system includes both external and internal organs. The external organs include the penis , the scrotum , and the testicles (or testes). The penis

224-489: A higher risk of abuse, and may experience more depression than gender-conforming peers, as well as social stigma from parents and peers. The gender policing towards them can increase the risk of alcohol use, anxiety, and depression in adulthood. In some cultures, the birth of a male child (boy) is considered prosperous. Boys perform the majority of child labor around the world compared to girls; 88 million child laborers are boys and 64 million are girls. Boys are also

252-399: Is a cylindrical organ filled with spongy tissue. It is the organ used by boys to expel urine . The foreskin of some boys' penises is removed in a process known as circumcision . The scrotum is a loose sac of skin behind the penis which contains the testicles. Testicles are oval-shaped gonads. A boy generally possesses two testicles. Internal male reproductive organs include the vas deferens ,

280-417: Is determined by whether the sperm cell contains an X or Y chromosome. If the sperm cell contains an X chromosome , the fetus will be XX and, typically, a girl will develop. A sperm cell carrying a Y chromosome results in an XY combination, and typically a boy will develop. Variations from this general rule result in intersex fetuses. In male embryos at six to seven weeks' gestation, "the expression of

308-407: Is expected to be 'on call' during specified hours in case any member of the employer's family wishes to ride. Grooms whose employers are involved in horse sports or horse racing are often required to travel with their employers to provide support services during competitions. The services required vary with the type of competition and range from simply ensuring that the horse is ready for the start of

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336-579: Is known as a nocturnal emission . When a boy reaches puberty, testosterone triggers the development of secondary sex characteristics. A boy's muscles increase in size and mass, his voice deepens, his bones lengthen, and the shape of his face and body changes. The increased secretion of testosterone from the testicles during puberty causes the male secondary sexual characteristics to be manifested. Male secondary sex characteristics include: Boys across various age groups are often part of social circles that establish their own unique norms. These norms serve as

364-445: Is often used to describe an out-and-out adherent or partisan, ready to do anything. The phrase henchman is also used as a pejorative for any sort of political mastermind or to present others as such. Thus it was used for associates of President George W. Bush , e.g., by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez . Likewise, it was also used against associates of the former U.S. President Bill Clinton . Rebekah Brooks has been described as

392-517: Is one way by which we judge many of our present boys to be quite different from some of those who were here long ago: those that are married have their wives here with them, and build their own houses, and all are busy making their gardens. I have told all the boys that if they wished to stay here and learn, those that had wives must bring them. Multiple politicians – including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Kentucky Congressman Geoff Davis – have been criticized publicly for referring to

420-524: The James Bond franchise, who was also paralleled by "Random Task" in the Austin Powers parody film. In animation, Starscream is generally depicted as the second-in-command to the main antagonist Megatron , while more literal depictions of a henchman can be seen in the animated series The Venture Bros. This includes the secondary characters Henchman 21 and 24, among other characters seen in service to

448-463: The carriage . Stablehand is a more old-fashioned term; the variation stableman usually applies to an experienced adult, the lowest rank stableboy (corresponding to the first origin of groom) rather to a minor and/or trainee. The historical synonym [h]ostler has meanwhile developed (in the United States) a new meaning of "rail employee". Large establishments may employ several grooms under

476-402: The ejaculatory ducts , the urethra , the seminal vesicles , and the prostate gland. Puberty is the process by which children's bodies mature into adult bodies that are capable of reproduction. On average, boys begin puberty at ages 11–12 and complete puberty at ages 16–17. In boys, puberty begins with the enlargement of the testicles and scrotum. The penis also increases in size, and

504-513: The royal henchmen , known also as the children of honour. The word became obsolete for grooms in English from the middle of the 17th century, but was retained in Scots as "personal attendant of a Highland chief". It was revived in English by way of the novelist Sir Walter Scott , who took the word and its derivation, according to the New English Dictionary , from Edward Burt 's Letters from

532-688: The Arabic/Hindustani word sais or syce instead of "groom". Boy A boy is a young male human . The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent . When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man . According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary , a boy is "a male child from birth to adulthood". The word "boy" comes from Middle English boi, boye ("boy, servant"), related to other Germanic words for boy , namely East Frisian boi ("boy, young man") and West Frisian boai ("boy"). Although

560-435: The competition to warming the horse up beforehand. In competition, the term may have a distinct meaning. At a horse show , grooms outside of the ring perform standard grooming tasks, but if utilized inside the show ring are generally defined as an individual called in to assist an exhibitor with a horse while in competition. In combined driving the groom is the passenger and at speed is required to shift his weight to balance

588-659: The exact etymology is obscure, the English and Frisian forms probably derive from an earlier Anglo-Frisian * bō-ja ("little brother"), a diminutive of the Germanic root * bō- ("brother, male relation"), from Proto-Indo-European * bhā- , * bhāt- ("father, brother"). The root is also found in Norwegian dialectal boa ("brother"), and, through a reduplicated variant * bō-bō- , in Old Norse bófi , Dutch boef "(criminal) knave, rogue", German Bube ("knave, rogue, boy"). Furthermore,

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616-471: The henchwoman of Rupert Murdoch . Members of the SS , or any of Adolf Hitler 's staff, are often called "Hitler's Henchmen", a phrase used as the title of a book by Guido Knopp and a television documentary. Henchman have been depicted in various capacities across genres of fiction, whether as low-level functionaries or capable lieutenants of major characters. Notable examples include henchmen such as Oddjob from

644-542: The management of the head groom or stablemaster . In many cases the head groom has complete responsibility for the horses including devising training schedules, choosing feeds for optimum nutrition and ensuring the horses are shod, wormed, inoculated and provided with timely veterinary care. Several other words originally denoting other (often much higher) titles, notably Constable , Equerry and Marshal , have developed into terms for those working with horses. In African or Asian contexts, English-speakers sometimes use

672-481: The name of Hengest , the Saxon chieftain, and still survives in English in place-names and other names beginning with Hingst- or Hinx- . It was often rendered as Henxman in medieval English. Young henchmen, in fact pages of honour or squires , rode or walked at the side of their master in processions and the like, and appear in the English royal household from the 14th century until Tudor Queen Elizabeth I abolished

700-458: The primary victims of hazardous child labor. They are mainly employed in the agriculture , construction and mining sectors. Boy workers also account for about 87 percent of those who died on the job between 2003 and 2016 in the US. Boys are given a basic reading, writing and mathematics skill and then forced to pursue their father's profession in order to alleviate financial burden of the family. This

728-422: The supervillians in the series. Horse groom A groom or stable boy ( stable hand , stable lad ) is a person who is responsible for some or all aspects of the management of horses and/or the care of the stables themselves. The term most often refers to a person who is the employee of a stable owner, but an owner of a horse may perform the duties of a groom, particularly if the owner only possesses

756-480: The word may be related to Bōia , an Anglo-Saxon personal name. Historically, in the United States and South Africa, "boy" was used not only for domestic servants but also more generally as a disparaging term for black men; the term implied a subservient status. Thomas Branch, an early African-American Seventh-day Adventist missionary to Nyassaland ( Malawi ) referred to the native students as "boys": There

784-775: Was originally rather grander in status, as in bridegroom and the socially-elevated offices in the English Royal Household of: The meaning "man servant who attends to horses" is from 1667 although women and girls are often grooms. The verb is first attested in 1809; the transferred sense of "to tidy (oneself) up" is from 1843; and the figurative sense of "to prepare a candidate" is from 1887, originally in U.S. politics. Grooms may be employed in private residences or in professional horse training facilities such as stables , agistment properties and riding academies . The groom(s) usually clean stables (mucking-out), feed, exercise and groom horses. A groom in private service

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