English

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Etymology

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From boss +‎ woman.

Noun

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bosswoman (plural bosswomen)

  1. A female boss.
    • 1935 March 25, John W. Harden, “Snapshots”, in The Charlotte News, Charlotte, N.C., page five:
      Saturday afternoon, when the street mob was at its heighth, a chauffeur leaned against the corner of Ivey’s, fast asleep . . . The milling folks disturbed him not a bit . . . But his bosswoman made her way through the sea of people and shook him awake.
    • 1946 September 26, “Pitching Horseshoes with Billy Rose”, in St. Louis Globe-Democrat, volume 72, number 109, St. Louis, Mo., page 1B:
      While Eleanor spoke to the bosswoman about price, I took a deep breath and unscrewed the cap from my fountain pen.
    • 1947 March 8, Frank Rasky, “Teen Town Talk”, in The Sunday Sun, volume LXI, number 132, Vancouver, B.C., page 12:
      Hutch adds a hand-clasp to ours in making a big hello to George Landis who won out at Oliver . . . To bosswoman Anita Wong at Chinese Y Canteen . . .
    • 1948 November 18, San Pedro News-Pilot, volume 21, number 221, San Pedro, Calif., page 20:
      Mrs. G. W. Luhr, of Oakland, president of the California Congress of Parents and Teachers, went off the deep end a few days ago and took a blast at the current high school football regulations. [] But in this instance, I am of the opinion that Mrs. Luhr is slightly off base and, while she undoubtedly meant well, the PTA bosswoman must have been prodded on by some outsiders who have been instrumental in keeping our high school sports on an outmoded basis for so many years.
    • 1949 January 9, Frank Neill, “Privacy? No, Indeed, When Baby Is Born for a Movie”, in The Cedar Rapids Gazette, volume 66, number 366, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, section three, page 13:
      For this particular scene Miss Kathleen Kelley, bosswoman of maternity nurses at Hollywood Presbyterian hospital, served in official capacity.
    • 2017 July 8, Lucy Tompkins, “Eastern European bakery and deli introduces new foods to Missoula”, in Ravalli Republic, page A6:
      Both her parents have put Olga in charge of the store, and while her mother spends most nights baking, Olga is, in a sense, the bosswoman.

Synonyms

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Coordinate terms

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