Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Boss

Boss (bŏs; 115), n.; pl. Bosses (-ĕz). [OE. boce, bose, boche, OF. boce, boche, bosse, F. bosse, of G. origin; cf. OHG. bōzo tuft, bunch, OHG. bōzan, MHG. bôzen, 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. bösse.] 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 (bŏs), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bossed (bŏst); p. pr. & vb. n. Bossing.] [OE. bocen, fr. OF. bocier. See the preceding word.] To ornament with bosses; to stud.

Boss, n. [D. baas master.] A master workman or superintendent; a director or manager; a political dictator. [Slang, U. S.]

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.