We've discussed "boss sauce". Is there a relationship between 'boss' the top person in an office, and 'bossy' as the general name for a cow?

I always thought it came from the Latin bos, bovis 'cow'.

A bit of food for thought: What's the connection between Bosporus and Oxford?

And which is original, Bosporus or Bosphorus? I've never managed to work it out; both make sense, and both seem to have been used in ancient times.

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Bosphorus comes from a Tracian word of unknown origin, interpreted in Greek as meaning "Ford of the Cow", from the legend of Io, one of the many lovers of Zeus, who swam across the sea here as a cow chased and continuously disturbed by flies sent by Hera.

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-- from Allaboutturkey.com

Dictionary.com says that the "top person in an office" meaning comes from the Dutch word baas 'master'.

For the "cow" meaning, they say it is "Perhaps ultimately from Latin bos."

For the "cow" meaning, they say it is "Perhaps ultimately from Latin bos."


What? You don't speak Latin with your cattle? And, of course, German with the dogs, Italian with the mistress, and French with the fellow officers. Rue Britannia.

Here is what Quinion has to say on "bossy." It could be from bovine, though also it may be from West Country dialect from the 18th century; the word buss or buss-calf or bussa means an unweaned calf.

Pardon my ignorance, but where is the West Country dialect from?

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where is the West Country dialect from?

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Um, the west of England.

Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall.

Kalleh: Quinion says "bossy" could be from bovine, though also it may be from West Country dialect from the 18th century; the word buss or buss-calf or bussa means an unweaned calf.

Ciardi talks about these two theories. My copy is paper, not virtual, so I can't link you and will quote at length.

Boss/Bossie/boss/bossie The U.S. farmer's standard name for a dairy cow. [A mysterious form. The U.S. farmer's call ho Boss and hey Boss is almost pure classical Gk. for "the cow." Yet the form does not appear in general Brit. usage and the OED lists it only as SW Brit. dial. for "a half-grown cow." Perh. the Am. usage could have stemmed from that rare SW dial. Brit., but the use is so widespread and so firmly established as to invite further speculation.

In colonial time and into the early 20th century it was a professorial prerogative to graze a cow on campus. Through this same period, colleges were essentially theology schools, the curriculum based on Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. I have a curious vision of a professor emerging from his study before twilight and calling his cow whimsically in Gk. hē bous. Back on the farm at vacation time and for summer work, students imitated the professor's form, and were in turn imitated. There is not a shred of attestation for this speculation, and I would gladly hear another. But let the root question remain visible: How did the classical form get from Greece and Rome to New England and to general Am. usage, leaving no Brit. trace except for limited usage in SW Brit. dial.?]

I always thought it came from the Latin bos, bovis 'cow'
Boss/Bossie/boss/bossie The U.S. farmer's standard name for a dairy cow. [A mysterious form. The U.S. farmer's call ho Boss and hey Boss is almost pure classical Gk. for "the cow."

When I look up bovine, the dictionaries give a Latin origin. Where does Greek come into this?

When I look up bovine, the dictionaries give a Latin origin. Where does Greek come into this?

Greek and Latin are kissing cousins in the great big PIE in the sky: the Indo-European language family. Sanskrit gaus, Greek bousLatin bos (gen. [i]bovis), English cow are all related to a PIE root *gwous.

The Greek is brought in for its articles: masculine ho, feminine hê. Latin had no articles.