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boss

noun
/bɒs/UK/bɔs/US/bɑs/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- Proto-Germanic *bō-? Proto-Germanic *baswô Proto-West Germanic *baswō Old Dutch *baso Middle Dutch baes Dutch baasbor. English boss From Dutch baas, from Middle Dutch baes (“master of a household, friend”), from Old Dutch *baso (“uncle, kinsman”), from Proto-West Germanic *baswō, from Proto-Germanic *baswô (“uncle”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *ba-, *bō- (“father, older male relative”), source also of the English terms babe, boy, bub, bully. Cognate with Middle Low German bās (“supervisor, foreman”), Old Frisian bas (“master”), hence Saterland Frisian Boas (“boss”), Old High German basa (“father's sister, cousin”), hence German Base (“aunt, cousin”). 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 video game sense is borrowed from Japanese ボス (bosu), borrowed from English boss.

  1. derived from boss
  2. borrowed from ボス
  3. derived from *bō-✻ — “father, older male relative”
  4. derived from *baswô✻ — “uncle”
  5. derived from *baswō✻
  6. derived from *baso✻ — “uncle, kinsman”
  7. derived from baes — “master of a household, friend”
  8. borrowed from baas

Definitions

  1. One who is in charge or something.

    • The boss of the company was going to Spain for work.
    • we have some vindictive people as bosses, and you don’t want to be the target of their wrath.

  2. An enemy, often at the end of a level, that is particularly challenging and must be…

    An enemy, often at the end of a level, that is particularly challenging and must be beaten in order to progress.

  3. To exercise authoritative control over

    To exercise authoritative control over; to tell (someone) what to do, often repeatedly.

    • By YOU last night’s journey was actually bossed / Without you, I’m certain, we’d all have been lost.
    • 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; [...]
    • 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 [...]
  4. ›+ 9 more definitions

    1. Of excellent quality, first-rate.

      • That is a boss Zefron poster.
      • Boy 2: He's the neatest looking guy on TV! Boy 3: I'll say! Boy 1: He sure is! Boy 3: Boy, the way he talks is really boss!

    2. A lump, protuberance, or swelling in an animal, person or object.

    3. A target block, made of foam but historically made of hay bales, to which a target face…

      A target block, made of foam but historically made of hay bales, to which a target face is attached.

    4. A wooden vessel for the mortar used in tiling or masonry, hung by a hook from the laths,…

      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.

      • Boss, a short trough for holding water, when tiling the roof

    5. A head or reservoir of water.

    6. To decorate with bosses

      To decorate with bosses; to emboss.

    7. A hassock or small seat, especially made from a bundle of straw.

      • 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.

    8. A surname.

    9. Acronym of Bond and Option Sales Strategy.

The neighborhood

Derived

bosslike, emboss

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for boss. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA