Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A familiar name for a cow or calf. See boss .
  • Furnished or ornamented with a boss or bosses.
  • Projecting in the round; boldly prominent, as if composed of bosses: said of sculpture, etc.
  • Acting like a boss; masterful; domineering.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Ornamented with bosses; studded.
  • noun United States A cow or calf; -- familiarly so called.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering
  • noun US, informal, dated A cow or calf.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective offensively self-assured or given to exercising usually unwarranted power

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Diminutive of English dialect boss in boss-calf, buss-calf, for boose-calf, properly, a calf kept in the stall. See boose.

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