bouchaleen

Bouchaleen is an Irish English term for a young boy, carried over from Irish Gaelic. It has a warm, old-fashioned, storytelling quality — the kind of word you'd expect from an elderly Irish relative or in a folktale. It's affectionate and gentle in tone, like calling a kid 'little lad' or 'young fella.' Rarely used by younger generations today, but it survives in literature, song, and the speech of older Irish communities.