Etymology and origin of the English word bossy
bossy1 protuberant
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1543 Traheron's translation of Vigo
- Ultimate origin
- Anglo-Norman boce
Etymology
The word for protuberant is formed from English boss (“a knob, rounded projection”) + -y.[2][3][4][5] The noun in that sense comes from Anglo-Norman boce, modern French bosse.[2][5] The OED notes that the derivative bossiness probably implies earlier use.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Protuberant, rounded, swelling out: 1543, in Bartholomew Traheron's translation of Giovanni de Vigo's surgery.[2][3] Etymonline dates it to the 1540s.[5]
Semantic evolution
From 1717, in Pope's Iliad, the word was used, chiefly in poetry, for something decorated with a boss or bosses, as a shield; this sense was obsolete by the early 20th century.[2][5] Merriam-Webster records a specialised use of a dog having overdeveloped shoulder muscles.[3]
Timeline
- 1543 – protuberant, rounded, swelling out.[2][3]
- 1717 – ornamented with a boss or bosses (obsolete, 1717–1904).[2]
Meanings
Adjective
bossy2 cow, calf
- Confidence
- Probable
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1809 Polwhele's Provincial Vocabulary of Devon and Cornwall
- Ultimate origins
- Dutch baasOld English -ig
Etymology
The word for a cow or calf is formed from English boss (“a calf”) + -y, with the familiar ending -y,[2][4][3] from an English dialect word for a young calf, also spelled buss.[3][6] The OED calls the origin of that word uncertain: it may reflect an unrecorded Middle English compound of bōs (“a stall for livestock”)[7] and calf, meaning "stall-calf", a calf left with the cow in the stall, later shortened.[2] Etymonline takes the cow's name to represent Latin bōs (“cow, ox”),[5] but the OED calls this derivation a learned folk etymology.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
A calf or cow: 1809, in Richard Polwhele's Provincial Vocabulary of Devon and Cornwall.[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1843, and Etymonline finds it as a common cow's name by 1844.[3][5]
Semantic evolution
The Shorter Oxford labels the word dialectal and American.[4] Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1848) recorded bossy as a familiar name for a calf,[8] and the Dictionary of American Regional English has it from New England, in 1863, for a calf.[6] Among American tramps bossy meant beef, as in bossy in a bowl, beef stew, from 1916.[9]
Timeline
Meanings
Noun
bossy3 domineering
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1881 Burr Oak Reveille (Kansas)
- Ultimate origin
- Dutch baas
Etymology
The word meaning domineering is formed from English boss (“a master, overseer”) + -y.[2][3][4][5][9] The noun in that sense comes from Dutch baas (“master”), borrowed into American English from the Dutch of New Netherland in the 17th century.[2][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Fond of taking charge and telling others what to do: 1881, in the Kansas Burr Oak Reveille.[2] Merriam-Webster, Etymonline and Green's Dictionary of Slang date it to 1882.[3][5][9]
Semantic evolution
The word is colloquial and originally American, and usually disparaging.[2][4] It describes a person who behaves like a boss, giving orders where they have no right to.[2][3] The noun bossiness in this sense is recorded from the early 20th century,[4] and the compound bossyboots, a bossy person, came later.[4] The Dictionary of American Regional English records bossy-barefoots from Massachusetts for people who always try to tell others what to do.[6]
Timeline
- 1881 – domineering, fond of telling others what to do.[2]
Meanings
Adjective
- (informal) Fond of giving orders; domineering or dictatorial: Her bossy older brother told everyone where to sit.[3][4][2]
Word family
- bossily
- bossiness
- bossyboots
Related words
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Cassidy, Frederic G. & Joan Houston Hall (eds.) (1985–2002), Dictionary of American Regional English, vols I–IV, Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
- ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
- ^ Bartlett, John Russell (1848), Dictionary of Americanisms, New York: Bartlett and Welford
- ^ a b c d e Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Bossy.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/bossy. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.
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