boss

英文词源

boss

boss: English has two words boss, of which the more familiar is far more recent; both are fairly obscure in origin. We know that boss ‘chief’ [19] comes from Dutch baas ‘master’ (it was introduced to American English by Dutch settlers), but where Dutch got the word from we do not know for certain. Boss ‘protuberance’ [13] was borrowed from Old French boce, which comes from an assumed general Romance *botja, but there the trail goes cold. Boss-eyed [19] and boss shot ‘bungled attempt’ [19] are both usually assumed to come from, or at least be connected with a 19thcentury English dialect verb boss ‘bungle’, of unknown origin.

boss (n.1)

"overseer," 1640s, American English, from Dutch baas "a master," Middle Dutch baes, of obscure origin. If original sense was "uncle," perhaps it is related to Old High German basa "aunt," but some sources discount this theory. The Dutch form baas is attested in English from 1620s as the standard title of a Dutch ship's captain. The word's popularity in U.S. may reflect egalitarian avoidance of master (n.) as well as the need to distinguish slave from free labor. The slang adjective meaning "excellent" is recorded in 1880s, revived, apparently independently, in teen and jazz slang in 1950s.

boss (n.2)

"protuberance, button," c. 1300, from Old French boce "a hump, swelling, tumor" (12c., Modern French bosse), from either Frankish *botija or Vulgar Latin *bottia, both which is of uncertain origin.

boss (v.)

1856, from boss (n.1). Related: Bossed; bossing.