boss

February 18, 2018, Dawn Pine, 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.

A person who oversees and directs the work of others; a supervisor.

Chat turned to whisper when the boss entered the conference room.

My boss complains that I'm always late to work.

A person in charge of a business or company.

They named him boss because he had good leadership skills.

A leader, the head of an organized group or team.

He is the Republican boss in Kentucky.

The head of a political party in a given region or district.

Yes, boss.

(informal, especially India, MLE and Philippines) A term of address to a man.

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

There's no olive oil; will sunflower oil do? — I'll have to run that by the boss.

line manager

→ Cantonese: 波士 (bo¹ si⁶⁻²)

→ Danish: boss

→ French: boss

→ Indonesian: bos

→ Italian: boss

→ Japanese: ボス (bosu)

→ Korean: 보스 (boseu)

vastus

in a game without other kinds of enemies

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 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.


boss

By YOU last night’s journey was actually bossed / Without you, I’m certain, we’d all have been lost.

1931, Robert L. May, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Montgomery Ward (publisher)

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; [...]

1932, Lorine Pruette, The Parent and the Happy Child, page 76:

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 [...]

1967, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, The purloined paperweight, page 90:

For if, on the one hand, I bossed him and showed him what to do and how to do it, [...]

1980, Jean Toomer, The wayward and the seeking: a collection of writings by Jean Toomer, page 40:

Clarke was undoubtedly made to change things and for spells, the Czechs bossed the game. Scotland's midfield was nullified, Dykes struggled to hold the ball up while, barring a small handful of forays by Robertson, there was a distinct lack of width from the Scots.

2021 June 14, Scott Mullen, “Scotland 0-2 Czech Republic”, in BBC Sport:

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

en-verb

boss (third-person singular simple present bosses, present participle bossing, simple past and past participle bossed)

bosses (present singular third-person)
bossing (participle present)
bossed (participle past)
bossed (past)


boss

That is a boss Zefron poster.

(slang, US, Canada, Liverpool) Of excellent quality, first-rate.

en-adj

boss (comparative bosser, superlative bossest)

bosser (comparative)
bossest (superlative)


boss

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

(geology) A lump-like mass of rock, especially one projecting through a stratum of different rock.

A convex protuberance in hammered work, especially the rounded projection in the centre of a shield.

The seargent […] screwing a bipod into the threaded boss on the underside of the barrel would kill these animals […]

1985, Cormac McCarthy, chapter IV, in Blood Meridian […] , →OCLC:

(mechanics) A protrusion; frequently a cylinder of material that extends beyond a hole.

en:prominence or projection on an object

(architecture) A knob or projection, usually at the intersection of ribs in a vault.

(architecture) A roughly cut stone set in place for later carving.

Coordinate term: tuberosity

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

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

1842, Peter Nicholson, The Mechanic's Companion:

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.

From Middle English bos, bose, boce, from Old French boce (“lump, bulge, protuberance, knot”), from Frankish *bottja, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to hit, strike, beat”). Doublet of beat; see there for more.


boss

(transitive) To decorate with bosses; to emboss.


boss

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.

1916, James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Macmillan Press Ltd, paperback, section 36:

(obsolete) A hassock or small seat, especially made from a bundle of straw.