boss
1 [baws, bos]
| 1. | a person who employs or superintends workers; manager. |
| 2. | a politician who controls the party organization, as in a particular district. |
| 3. | a person who makes decisions, exercises authority, dominates, etc.: My grandfather was the boss in his family. |
| 4. | to be master of or over; manage; direct; control. |
| 5. | to order about, esp. in an arrogant manner. |
| 6. | to be boss. |
| 7. | to be too domineering and authoritative. |
1640–50, Americanism; < D baas master, foreman

1. supervisor, head, foreman, chief, superintendent, administrator, overseer.
boss
2 [baws, bos]
| 1. | Botany, Zoology. a protuberance or roundish excrescence on the body or on some organ of an animal or plant. |
| 2. | Geology. a knoblike mass of rock, esp. an outcrop of igneous or metamorphic rock. |
| 3. | an ornamental protuberance of metal, ivory, etc.; stud. |
| 4. | Architecture.
|
| 5. | Bookbinding. one of several pieces of brass or other metal inset into the cover of a book to protect the corners or edges or for decoration. |
| 6. | Machinery. a small projection on a casting or forging. |
| 7. | Nautical. a projecting part in a ship's hull, or in one frame of a hull, fitting around a propeller shaft. |
| 8. | to ornament with bosses. |
| 9. | to emboss. |
| 10. | (in plumbing) to hammer (sheet metal, as lead) to conform to an irregular surface. |
1250–1300; ME boce < AF: lump, growth, boil; OF < VL *bottia, of uncert. orig.

Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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boss 1 (bôs, bŏs) n.
v. tr.
To be or act as a supervisor or controlling element. adj. Slang First-rate; topnotch. [Dutch baas, master.] |
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Boss
Boss\ (b[o^]s; 115), n.; pl. Bosses (-[e^]z). [OE. boce, bose, boche, OF. boce, boche, bosse, F. bosse, of G. origin; cf. OHG. b[=o]zo tuft, bunch, OHG. b[=o]zan, MHG. b[^o]zen, to beat. See Beat, and cf. Botch a swelling.]1. Any protuberant part; a round, swelling part or body; a knoblike process; as, a boss of wood. 2. A protuberant ornament on any work, either of different material from that of the work or of the same, as upon a buckler or bridle; a stud; a knob; the central projection of a shield. See Umbilicus. 3. (Arch.) A projecting ornament placed at the intersection of the ribs of ceilings, whether vaulted or flat, and in other situations. 4. [Cf. D. bus box, Dan. b["o]sse.] 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. --Gwilt. 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. 6. A head or reservoir of water. [Obs.]Boss
Boss\, n. [D. baas master.] A master workman or superintendent; a director or manager; a political dictator. [Slang, U. S.]Cite This Source
boss (1)
boss (2)
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Main Entry: boss
Pronunciation: 'bäs, 'bos
Function: noun
: a protuberant part or body boss on an animal's horn>
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boss (bôs)
n.
- A circumscribed rounded swelling; a protuberance.
- The prominence of a kyphosis or humpback.
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BOSS
Bridgport Operating System Software. A derivative of the ISO 1054 numerical machine control language for milling, etc.
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boss
in medieval architecture, keystone used in vaulting to provide a junction for intersecting ribs and to cover the actual complex of mitred joints. In medieval England it was highly developed, but in France it was less developed because of the greater height of French naves. By the 13th century, decorative bosses with naturalistic carving were widely used in England (e.g., in the nave at Westminster Abbey, London, and at Ely Cathedral). In the 14th century, bosses comprising a series of narrative scenes appeared, and in the 15th century, fan vaulting was developed with long, pendantlike bosses
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