boss

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The person who is in charge of you at work.

   My boss asked me to finish the report by Friday.

2. 2
   noun

   A person who is in charge of a business or organization.

   The boss of the company announced new plans for next year.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Boss was borrowed in the early 19th century from Dutch baas, meaning “master.”

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, i…

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