linkboy

/'liɳkbɔi/

Thân thiện

A linkboy carries a torch to light the way for a gentleman on a cobbled street.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A torchbearer for hire: A linkboy was a person, typically a boy or young man, employed to carry a torch (a "link") to light the way for pedestrians along dark streets or paths at night.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • In 18th-century London, a wealthy gentleman might hire a linkboy to guide him safely home.
  • The novel's scene was set in a foggy alley, illuminated only by the flame of the linkboy's torch.

Advanced Usage

• The term is historical and is primarily used in contexts describing pre-modern eras, especially the 17th to 19th centuries, before the widespread use of gas or electric street lighting.
• It can be used metaphorically to describe someone or something that provides illumination or guidance in a dark or confusing situation.
  • In the complex legal case, the old precedent served as a linkboy for the judges.

Variants and Related Words

• Link (noun): The torch itself, typically made of tow and pitch, carried by a linkboy.
• Linkman (noun): A synonym for linkboy, though sometimes implying an adult attendant.

Synonyms

• Torchbearer: A person who carries a torch.
• Flame-bearer: A poetic term for one who carries a light.

Related Phrases

• To carry a torch for someone: This modern idiom means to have enduring, often unrequited, feelings of love for someone. It is distantly related through the shared concept of carrying a light, but its meaning is entirely different from the historical job of a linkboy.

Học thuật

Noun

1. (formerly) an attendant hired to carry a torch for pedestrians in dark streets

Từ đồng nghĩa

• linkman