bofa (English)

Where does "bofa" come from?

The slang term "bofa" originated as a modern English contraction of the phrase "both of." It draws from "both," which traces back to ancient Proto-Germanic roots for the dual number, and "of," which evolved from Proto-Indo-European words meaning "away." While its linguistic ingredients are ancient, "bofa" itself is a recent, playful creation used as an interjection to facilitate a pun.

Full etymology tree

• bofa (English), 'An interjection of "both of my balls" or "both of deez nuts".'
  • compound bothe (Middle English), 'A store, kiosk or booth, especially a temporary one.'
    • inherited bā (Old English), 'neuter/feminine nominative/accusative singular of beġen'
    • inherited þā (Old English), 'inflection of se:'
    • borrowed báðir (Old Norse), 'both'
      • inherited *bai (Proto-Germanic), 'both'
        • inherited *bʰóh₁ (Proto-Indo-European), 'both'
  • compound of (Middle English), 'of'
    • inherited of (Old English), 'from'
      • inherited æf (Old English), 'of'
        • inherited *ab (Proto-West Germanic)
          • inherited *ab (Proto-Germanic), 'away from, off of'
            • inherited *h₂epó (Proto-Indo-European), 'off, away'

Direct ancestors

• both (English)
• of (English)

Updated June 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris