bossとは

意味・読み方・使い方

語源 1

From Dutch baas, from Middle Dutch baes (“master of a household, friend”), from Old Dutch *baso (“uncle, kinsman”), from Proto-Germanic *baswô, masculine form of Proto-Germanic *baswǭ (“father's sister, aunt, cousin”). 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.

名詞

boss (複数形 bosses)

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

2. A person in charge of a business or company.

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

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

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

   They named him boss because he had good leadership skills.

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

   He is the Republican boss in Kentucky.

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

   Yes, boss.

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

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

同意語

• (person in charge of a business または company): employer
• (person who oversees かつ directs the work of others): line manager, manager, supervisor
• (leader of an organized group または team): head, leader
• (head of a political party in a given region または district): leader
• (くだけた用法: term of address to a man): gov/guv (英国用法), guvnor (英国用法), mate (英国用法)
• See also Thesaurus:boss

派生語

派生した語

• → Japanese: ボス (bosu)
• → Indonesian: bos

動詞

boss (三人称単数 現在形 bosses, 現在分詞 bossing, 過去形および過去分詞形 bossed)

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

   Synonyms: lord over, boss around

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

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

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

     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; [...]

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

     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 [...]

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

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

派生語

• boss about, boss around, overboss

形容詞

boss (not comparable)

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

   That is a boss Zefron poster.

語源 2

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.

名詞

boss (複数形 bosses)

1. A swelling, lump or protuberance in an animal, person or object.
2. (geology) A lump-like mass of rock, especially one projecting through a stratum of different rock.
3. A convex protuberance in hammered work, especially the rounded projection in the centre of a shield.
4. (mechanics) A protrusion, frequently a cylinder of material that extends beyond a hole.
   • 1985, Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, chapter IV

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

5. (architecture) A knob or projection, usually at the intersection of ribs in a vault.
6. (archery) A target block, made of foam but historically made of hay bales, to which a target face is attached.
7. 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.

   (Can we find かつ add a quotation of Gwilt to this entry?)

8. A head or reservoir of water.

派生語

• bosslike
• emboss

動詞

boss (三人称単数 現在形 bosses, 現在分詞 bossing, 過去形および過去分詞形 bossed)

1. (transitive) To decorate with bosses; to emboss.

語源 3

Apparently a corruption of bass.

名詞

boss (複数形 bosses)

1. (obsolete) A hassock or small seat, especially made from a bundle of straw.
   • 1916, James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Macmillan Press Ltd, paperback, 36:

     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.

同意語

• (hassock または footrest): footrest, hassock

アナグラム

• BSOs, SOBs, sobs