bossy
adjectivenounadjectiveattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈbɒsi//
- United Kingdom//ˈbɒsɪ//
- United States//ˈbɔsi//
- //ˈbɑsi//
Tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering.
adjective
- 1
Tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering.
Over in the wardrobe department a bossy woman in ill-fitting dungarees tried to talk her into wearing a short red low-cut dress for the test.
Cuphead is a difficult gauntlet through a ton of bosses, from evil clowns to bossy queen bees.
Where American Jewish men contend with stereotypes of being oversexed, needy, nebbishy and neurotic (like Woody Allen, boo hiss), Jewish women are cast as withholding, bossy, exotic, and materialistic (like Fran Drescher, which honestly? Goals).
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- Proto-Germanic *bō-? Proto-Germanic *baswô Proto-West Germanic *baswō Old Dutch *baso Middle Dutch baes Dutch baasbor. English boss Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English bossy From boss + -y.
noun
- 1
datedA cow or calf.
A week before, while riding the prairies, Raidler had come upon a sick and weakling calf deserted and bawling. Without dismounting he had reached and slung the distressed bossy across his saddle, and dropped it at the ranch for the boys to attend to.
Etymology
Diminutive of dialectal English boss + -y, as used in the term boss-calf (which, like buss-calf, is a variant form of boose-calf, a calf kept in a boose (“stall”)).
adjective
- 1
Ornamented with bosses; studded.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-der.? Proto-Germanic *bautaną Proto-West Germanic *bautan Frankish *bottjabor. Vulgar Latin *bottia Old French bocebor. Middle English bos English boss Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English bossy From boss + -y.
Forms
- plural
- bossies
- comparative
- bossier, more bossy
- superlative
- bossiest, most bossy
bossy · Tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering.
Boston · A town and borough in Lincolnshire, England (OS grid ref…bot · The larva of a botfly, which infests the skin of various…both · Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two…