English
boss
see also: Boss, BOSS
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /bɒs/
  • (America) IPA: /bɔs/
  • (cot-caught) IPA: /bɑs/
Etymology 1

From Dutch baas, from Middle Dutch baes, from odt *baso, from Proto-West Germanic *baswō, from Proto-Germanic *baswô, perhaps from Proto-Germanic *bō-, source also of the English terms babe, boy, bub, bully.

Originally a term of respect used to address an older relative. Later, in New Amsterdam, it began to mean a person in charge who is not a master. The representation of Dutch -aa- by English -o- is due to the older unrounded pronunciation of this letter, which is still used in North America and parts of Ireland, but was formerly found in some British accents as well.

The video game sense is borrowed from Japanese ボス (bosu), in turn from English boss.

Noun

boss (plural bosses)

  1. A person who oversees and directs the work of others; a supervisor.
    • February 18, 2018, Dawn Pine, [https://web.archive.org/web/20201001113213/https://www.returnofkings.com/152682/12-strategies-for-dealing-with-a-bad-boss Strategies for Dealing with a Bad Boss]
      we have some vindictive people as bosses, and you don’t want to be the target of their wrath.
  2. A person in charge of a business or company.
    Synonyms: employer
    Chat turned to whisper when the boss entered the conference room.
    My boss complains that I'm always late to work.
  3. A leader, the head of an organized group or team.
    Synonyms: head, leader
    They named him boss because he had good leadership skills.
  4. The head of a political party in a given region or district.
    Synonyms: leader
    He is the Republican boss in Kentucky.
  5. (informal, especially, India, MLE and Philippines) A term of address to a man.
    Yes, boss.
  6. (video games) An enemy, often at the end of a level, that is particularly challenging and must be beaten in order to progress.
    Synonyms: guardian
  7. (humorous) Wife.
    There's no olive oil; will sunflower oil do? — I'll have to run that by the boss.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Verb

boss (bosses, present participle bossing; simple past and past participle bossed)

  1. (transitive) To exercise authoritative control over; to tell (someone) what to do, often repeatedly.
    Synonyms: lord over, boss around
    • 1931, Robert L. May, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Montgomery Ward (publisher):
      By YOU last night’s journey was actually bossed / Without you, I’m certain, we’d all have been lost.
    • 1932, Lorine Pruette, The Parent and the Happy Child, page 76:
      His sisters bossed him and spoiled him. All their lives he was to go on being their little brother, who could do no wrong, because he was the baby; [...]
    • 1967, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, The purloined paperweight, page 90:
      She bossed him, and he's never gotten over it. She still orders him around, and instead of telling her to go soak her head, he just says 'Yes, ma'am' as weak as a newborn jellyfish [...]
    • 1980, Jean Toomer, The wayward and the seeking: a collection of writings by Jean Toomer, page 40:
      For if, on the one hand, I bossed him and showed him what to do and how to do it, [...]
Translations Adjective

boss (not comparable)

  1. (slang, American, Canadian, Liverpool) Of excellent quality, first-rate.
    That is a boss Zefron poster.
Etymology 2

From Middle English bos, bose, boce, from Old French boce, from Frankish *bottja, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną.

Noun

boss (plural bosses)

  1. A swelling, lump or protuberance in an animal, person or object.
    Coordinate term: tuberosity
    1. (geology) A lump-like mass of rock, especially one projecting through a stratum of different rock.
    2. A convex protuberance in hammered work, especially the rounded projection in the centre of a shield.
    3. (mechanics) A protrusion; frequently a cylinder of material that extends beyond a hole.
      Coordinate terms: ear, eye
      • 1985, Cormac McCarthy, chapter IV, in Blood Meridian […] , →OCLC ↗:
        The seargent […] screwing a bipod into the threaded boss on the underside of the barrel would kill these animals […]
    4. (architectural element) A knob or projection, usually at the intersection of ribs in a vault.
  2. (archery) A target block, made of foam but historically made of hay bales, to which a target face is attached.
  3. A wooden vessel for the mortar used in tiling or masonry, hung by a hook from the laths, or from the rounds of a ladder.
  4. A head or reservoir of water.
Translations Translations Translations Verb

boss (bosses, present participle bossing; simple past and past participle bossed)

  1. (transitive) To decorate with bosses; to emboss.
Etymology 3

Apparently a corruption of bass.

Noun

boss (plural bosses)

  1. (obsolete) A hassock or small seat, especially made from a bundle of straw.
    • 1916, James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Macmillan Press Ltd, paperback, section 36:
      All were waiting : uncle Charles, who sat far away in the shadow of the window, Dante and Mr Casey, who sat in the easy chairs at either side of the hearth, Stephen, seated on a chair between them, his feet resting on a toasting boss.
Synonyms Translations
Boss
Proper noun
  1. Surname.
BOSS
Proper noun
  1. (US, finance) Initialism of Bond and Option Sales Strategy


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