Meanings
oss1
- dialectalTo set about, or intend be inclined to set about (doing something).
Aw'm ossin t' goo t' Buxton
1885, Thomas Hallam, Four Dialect Words: Clem, Lake, Nesh, and Oss, Their Modern Dialectal Rang, Meanings, Pronunciation, Etymology, and Early Or Literary Use, page 585 more examples
JENNET. [...] Soa yee see Ise ossin towart hausekeepin. SARAH. Whya nowt but weel. Wees nit hev the weddin an kirsenin at yaa time, that's a cumfort. JENNET. Hed Sammy ivver offerd onny thing that's mismannerd to me, awr courtship wod sean hae[…]
1840, Ann Coward Wheeler, The Westmoreland Dialect in Four Familiar Dialogues: In which an Attempt is Made to Illustrate the Provincial Idiom, page 64"Dun you know if the glasses is ossing to sattle?"
1872, Notes and Queries, page 492Eh, Mary, w'ereta for? / O'm ossin' t' goo t' Eccles
1876, Richard Morris, On the Survival of Early English Words in Our Present Dialects, page 60I told you to do so and so, but you dunna oss to do it.
1903, Bye-gones: Relating to Wales and the Border Counties, page 136... but he didn't oss for t' goo any ner.
2024 August 1, Deborah Mutch, British Socialist Fiction, 1884-1914, Volume 3, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN - dialectalTo offer (to do something).
an' nobody ossin' to do it
1870, Axon, Black Kt., page 56, quoted in the EDD3 more examples
They owe fer cannels, an' meyle, an' nivver oss to pay.
1875, Bickerdike, Beacon Alm., page 41, quoted in the EDD"... he ne'er osses pay me, an aw hearn foaks sen he isna gettingk on gradely reet, so aw'st just caw an ax for th' brass afore he goes to th' wa', an then aw'st caw an get thee a yew pair o' pattens as aw coom hwom!"
1886, Robert Holland, A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Chester, page 459Tom Stokes 'e ossed to goo an' ketch 'er, an' wen 'er runned by 'im 'e thraowed a stone vicious, an' 'it 'er ov the heye, an' 'er worn't good fur nothin' ahterwards, an' I sowld 'er fur wot 'er 'ud fetch[…]
1897, Hamilton Kingsford, Vigornian Monologues: A Series of Papers in Illustration of the Dialect of Worcestershire, page 11
oss2
OSS3
plural OSSes · plural OSS's · plural OSSs
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablecomputingInitialism of open-source software.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableeducationInitialism of out-of-school suspension.
- abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablecommunicationsInitialism of operations/operational support system.
- abbreviationhistoricalinitialismInitialism of Office of Strategic Services (a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II).
OSs4
- pluralplural of OS
Oss5
- A city and municipality of North Brabant, Netherlands.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
oss · verb
Unclear. Middle English ōssen had a rather different meaning, "to reveal, to prophesy", but the OED suggests it could nonetheless be the same verb. The origin of the Middle English verb is itself obscure, but it may be a variant of halsen, from Old English hālsian, although this too had a rather different meaning, "to beseech, entreat; to exorcise; to imprecate".
Full word history & related roots →Oss · proper noun
- DutchOss
- EnglishOss
Borrowed from Dutch Oss.
More words from Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with oss
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
oss. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oss
“oss.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oss. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oss,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oss.
Source: oss on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.