bosser French · revision 17607

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=derivation|attested=1878}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɔ.se/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bosser'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is uncertain.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) It is probably derived from [[bosse]] “hump” with a verb ending: the Petit Robert and the GLLF start from a regional [[m|fr|bosser du dos]], to be bent over one's work, and Rey from the sense “to stoop” found in the dialects of western France.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) Rey does not rule out a borrowing from a craft vocabulary, the fine arts ([[ronde-bosse]]) or the navy (the other verb of that spelling, to fix with stoppers).^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) The older verb meaning “to have bumps” is recorded as the participle [[m|fro|bocié]] about 1170.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Gaston Esnault records it in 1878 in the sense “to work”.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ First slang, then familiar, it has become the common informal word for working hard.^(DHLF 1992) It is also used transitively, ''bosser un examen'', to study hard for it.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert) The noun ''bosseur'', a hard worker, dates from 1908.^(TLFi) In Quebec French the old sense “to give someone bumps” survives.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1170 – ''Bocié'' “bumpy”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1878 – “To work”.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1908 – ''Bosseur''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(familiar)'' To [[m|en|work|alt=work]], especially hard: ''il bosse dur'', ''je bosse avec lui depuis un an''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(familiar, transitive)'' To study hard for, swot up: ''bosser son examen''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bosseur]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bosse]]

+ * [[bûcher]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate verb ''bosser'' (1516) is a sailors' term for securing a cable with stoppers (''bosses''); it comes from the nautical sense of [[bosse]].^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}