Part 757

He put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. Ex. iv. 6.

6. Inclination; desire. [Obs.] Shak.

7. A depression round the eye of a millstone. Knight.

Bos"om, a. 1. Of or pertaining to the bosom.

2. Intimate; confidential; familiar; trusted; cherished; beloved; as, a bosom friend.

Bos"om, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bosomed (-md); p. pr. & vb. n. Bosoming.] 1. To inclose or carry in the bosom; to keep with care; to take to heart; to cherish.

Bosom up my counsel, You'll find it wholesome. Shak.

2. To conceal; to hide from view; to embosom.

To happy convents bosomed deep in vines. Pope.

Bos"omed (bz"md), a. Having, or resembling, bosom; kept in the bosom; hidden.

Bos"om*y (-), a. Characterized by recesses or sheltered hollows.

Bo"son (b"s'n), n. See Boatswain. [Obs.] Dryden.

Bos*po"ri*an (&?;), a. [L. Bosporus, G. Bo`sporos, lit., ox-ford, the ox's or heifer's ford, on account of Io's passage here as a heifer; fr. boy^s ox, heifer + po`ros ford.] Of or pertaining to the Thracian or the Cimmerian Bosporus.

The Alans forced the Bosporian kings to pay them tribute and exterminated the Taurians. Tooke.

Bos"po*rus (bs"p*rs), n. [L.] A strait or narrow sea between two seas, or a lake and a seas; as, the Bosporus (formerly the Thracian Bosporus) or Strait of Constantinople, between the Black Sea and Sea of Marmora; the Cimmerian Bosporus, between the Black Sea and Sea of Azof. [Written also Bosphorus.]

Bos"quet (&?;), n. See Bosket.

Boss (bs; 115), n.; pl. Bosses (-z). [OE. boce, bose, boche, OF. boce, boche, bosse, F. bosse, of G. origin; cf. OHG. bzo tuft, bunch, OHG. bzan, MHG. bôzen, to beat. See Beat, and cf. Botch a swelling.] 1. Any protuberant part; a round, swelling part or body; a knoblike process; as, a boss of wood.

2. A protuberant ornament on any work, either of different material from that of the work or of the same, as upon a buckler or bridle; a stud; a knob; the central projection of a shield. See Umbilicus.

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3. (Arch.) A projecting ornament placed at the intersection of the ribs of ceilings, whether vaulted or flat, and in other situations.

4. [Cf. D. bus box, Dan. bösse.] A wooden vessel for the mortar used in tiling or masonry, hung by a hook from the laths, or from the rounds of a ladder. Gwilt.

5. (Mech.) (a) The enlarged part of a shaft, on which a wheel is keyed, or at the end, where it is coupled to another. (b) A swage or die used for shaping metals.

6. A head or reservoir of water. [Obs.]

Boss (bs), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bossed (bst); p. pr. & vb. n. Bossing.] [OE. bocen, fr. OF. bocier. See the preceding word.] To ornament with bosses; to stud.

Boss, n. [D. baas master.] A master workman or superintendent; a director or manager; a political dictator. [Slang, U. S.]

Boss"age (&?;), n. [F. bossage, fr. bosse. See Boss a stud.] 1. (Arch.) A stone in a building, left rough and projecting, to be afterward carved into shape. Gwilt.

2. (Arch.) Rustic work, consisting of stones which seem to advance beyond the level of the building, by reason of indentures or channels left in the joinings. Gwilt.

Bossed (&?;), a. Embossed; also, bossy.