Where does “başıboş” come from?

başıboş (Turkish) comes from Turkish boş, from Ottoman Turkish بوش, from Proto-Turkic boĺ — free; empty.

başıboş (Turkish): idle; stray; unattended

Definitions

  1. idle; stray; unattended

Ancestry of “başıboş”, step by step

başıboş traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Turkish boş

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Turkishboşempty, unoccupied, free
2Ottoman Turkishبوشempty, unoccupied, free, vacant
3Proto-Turkicboĺfree; empty

via Turkish başı

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Turkishbaşıinflection of baş: ## accusative singular ##...
Every word from Proto-Turkic boĺ →Every word from Ottoman Turkish بوش →Every word from Turkish boş →