Boss

See also: boss and boß

English

Proper noun

Boss

1. A surname.

Anagrams

• BSOs, SOBs, sobs

German

Alternative forms

• Boß (pre-1996)

Etymology

In the contemporary form (19th c.) chiefly from English boss, partly also from older northern German Baas (17th c.), both eventually from Dutch baas.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɔs/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Boss m (strong, genitive Bosses, plural Bosse)

1. (usually informal or derogatory) boss (person in charge, supervisor)

   Synonyms: Chef, Vorgesetzter

2. (video games) boss

   Synonym: Endgegner

Usage notes

• In common speech, Boss may be a fairly neutral synonym of Chef. In more formal contexts such neutral usage is sometimes met with in compounds, e.g. with the name of some company. For the most part, however, Boss has a negative overtone, either personal (despotism, haughtiness) or systemic (big business, predatory capitalism).

Declension

Declension of Boss [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Boss	die	Bosse
genitive	eines	des	Bosses	der	Bosse
dative	einem	dem	Boss, Bosse1	den	Bossen
accusative	einen	den	Boss	die	Bosse

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• (video games): Endboss, Zwischenboss

Further reading

• “Boss” in Duden online
• “Boss” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache