Where does “boss around” come from?
boss around (English) comes from English around, from Middle English arounde, from Middle English round, from Old French reont, from Latin retundus, from Latin rotundus, from Latin rotō, from Latin Rota — to run.
boss around (English): To act in a bossy manner with another person,...
Definitions
- To act in a bossy manner with another person,...
Ancestry of “boss around”, step by step
boss around traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English around
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | around | Defining a circle or closed curve containing a... |
| 2 | Middle English | arounde | about the margin, along the periphery |
| 3 | Middle English | round | circle, round |
| 4 | Old French | reont | round |
| 5 | Latin | retundus | round |
| 6 | Latin | rotundus | round, circular; spherical, rotund; rounded,... |
| 7 | Latin | rotō | to turn, trend, wheel, roll, swing about, whirl, rotate; brandish |
| 8 | Latin | Rota | an ecclesiastical appellate court in the Catholic... |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | rotā | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | Hróth₂-eh₂ | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | Hreth₂- | to run |
via English boss
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | boss | A person who oversees and directs the work of... |
| 2 | Middle English | bos | — |
| 3 | Old French | boce | swelling |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | bottia | bump |
| 5 | Frankish | bottija | — |
| 6 | Frankish | bōtan | to strike, knock down |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |