- An engraved stamp which is pressed onto a piece of paper or other material to leave an impression on it. Doing this is called embossing.
- A raised nail or stud on a shield or armor. A shield featuring bosses is, straightforwardly enough, a bossed shield.
- A chieftain, foreman, manager, or other leader of a group; a honcho. As a verb, to give orders; hence, to boss around.
The
confluence of these divergent definitions gives rise to various
wags pointing out that "a boss is an
ornamental stud."