I. ˈbäs, ˈbȯs noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English boce, from Old French, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin bottia (whence also Italian bozza boss, swelling, boccia bubble, Romanian boţ lump)
1.
a. : a protuberant part : a round swelling part or body : a knoblike process : hump
bosses on the horns of an animal
b. : a raised ornamentation shaped (as by hammering or carving) from the material of the object it ornaments
a metal plaque with bosses along its edges
or made of other material
glittering bosses on a leather bridle
: an ornamental stud or knob
a beautifully wrought boss on a shield
c. : an ornamental projecting block or mass used in architecture (as at the intersection of ribs in Gothic vaulting or at the centers of ceiling panels) ; also : a block left in the rough to be carved in position
2.
a. : a protuberant and often dome-shaped mass of igneous rock congealed beneath the surface of the earth and laid bare by erosion
b. : a smooth mound or hillock of bedrock usually bare of soil or vegetation
3. : a soft pad (as of soft leather, corduroy, or silk) used in ceramics and glassmaking for smoothing or making uniform the oil upon which color is to be dusted (as in decorating porcelain) or for cleaning surfaces (as of gilded work)
4.
a. : the enlarged part of a shaft on which a wheel is keyed
b. : a flange at the end of a shaft where it is coupled to another shaft : a small projection above the general surface of a part to form a seating or reinforcement for another part
c. : a raised rim around a hole (as about the axle hole in a wheel) : a hub especially of a propeller
d. : a projecting part of a screw-steamer sternpost, enclosing the propeller shaft
e. : the part of a ship's propeller to which the blades are attached
f. : a projection on a forging or casting to facilitate handling or to provide extra metal for a test
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II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English bocen, from Middle French bocer, from Old French bocier, from boce, n.
1. : to ornament with bosses : furnish with bosses : emboss
a bossed book cover
2. : to treat (as the surface of porcelain) with a boss
III. ˈbäs adjective
Etymology: origin unknown
dialect Britain : hollow , empty
IV. ˈbȯs, ˈbäs noun
( -es )
Etymology: perhaps from obsolete Dutch bosse box (now bus ), from Late Latin buxis — more at box
: a wooden vessel for the mortar used in tiling or masonry that is hung by a hook from the laths or from the rounds of a ladder
V. ˈbȯs also ˈbäs noun
( -es )
Etymology: Dutch baas master, from Middle Dutch baes; akin to Frisian baes master
1. : a chief workman or superintendent (as a foreman, director, or manager)
2. : someone who exercises control or authority ; especially : a top executive
3.
a. : a professional politician who controls a large number of votes in a party organization or who unofficially dictates appointments or legislative measures
b. : a top official regarded as having dictatorial authority over an organization that has wide public contacts
a labor boss
VI. adjective
1. : being in charge : having authority : principal , master
a boss printer
2. slang : marked by superiority : excellent , champion , first-rate
she's really a boss cook
VII. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
: to act as chief workman or superintendent of
we need a good man to boss that job
: exercise control or authority over
wasn't going to have her bossing this show — D.H.Lawrence
VIII. ˈbäs noun
( -es )
Etymology: perhaps from Dutch bos bundle (as of straw), bush, forest, from Middle Dutch bosch, busch bush, forest — more at bush
1. now dialect Britain : a low seat or hassock ; especially : one made of straw
2. : the straw back of an archery target made by coiling and sewing straw into a compact round mat
IX. ˈbȯs, ˈbäs sometimes ˈbəs noun
( -es )
Etymology: English dialect buss, boss young calf
: a cow or other bovine animal — used chiefly in calling