Meanings
plural bosslings
- derogatoryA diminutive, subordinate, or petty boss
If he can hope to go up higher only as the result of making himself useful to some boss or bossling, in matters having nothing in the world to do with the discharge of his legitimate duties, …
1915, The Town; A Civic Journal - Volumes 1-2 - Page 321 more example
A thousand tribes' worth of memory and rite flowed underground, cooling for a year, to roar like a cataract at the appointed hour, and inevitably to dry up again, some bossling having carried off the tawdry shield.
2006, Ben Oswest, The New Suffolk Hymnbook - Page 209
Origin
From boss + -ling (diminutive suffix).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bossling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bossling
“bossling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bossling. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bossling,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bossling.
Source: bossling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.