Boss | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Bŏss, n.

noun

n. [Fr. bosse, Pr. bossa, It. bozza, from Ger. butz, butzen, something cloddy or stumpy, point, tip, O. H. Ger. bozo, tuft, bunch, D. bos, bunch, tuft, O. H. Ger. pōzan, pōzjan, M. H. Ger. bōzen, N. H. Ger. boszen, to beat.]

Sense 1. A protuberant ornament on any work, either of different material from that of the work or of the same, as upon a bridle, harness, shield, ceiling, groined roof, &c.; a stud; a knob.

Sense 2. Any protuberant part; a round, swelling body; as, a boss of wood.

Sense 3. (Sculp.) A projecting mass of material to be afterward cut or carved.

Sense 4. (Masonry.) A wooden vessel for the mortar used in tiling, hung by a hook from the laths or the rounds of a ladder. Gwilt.

Sense 5. (Mech.) (a.) The enlarged part of a shaft, on which a wheel is keyed, or at the end, where it is coupled to another. (b.) A swage or die used for shaping metals.

Sense 6. A head or reservoir of water. [Obs.]

Bōss, n.

noun

n. [D. baas, master.] 1. The master workman or superintendent. [U. S.] 2. Master; one who can beat and overcome another. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

Bōss, v. t.

verbtransitive

Sense 1. To cover or ornament with bosses; to stud.

Sense 2. To hold mastery over; to direct or superintend work; as, to boss the house. [Low.] Bartlett.

Bōss, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. To be master; to rule. “To boss it over the crowd.” [Low.] Bartlett.