boss：来自纽约的荷兰语单词
Almost everyone has a boss, or has had one at some point. But "boss" is a surprisingly young word in English, and it came from a language that most people don't expect: Dutch.
In the 1600s, the city we now call New York was a Dutch colony called New Amsterdam. Even after the English took control in 1664, many Dutch families stayed, and their language continued to be spoken in the area for a long time.
The Dutch word baas meant "master" – the person in charge of a household, a workshop or a ship. English speakers in New York heard it all the time, and by the early 1800s, Americans had borrowed it as "boss".
Why did they need a new word? English already had "master". But in the young United States, "master" didn't sound right to many people. It was the word used by servants and enslaved people, and many free workers didn't like the idea of calling their employer their "master". "Boss" was more neutral. It simply meant the person who gave you your instructions and paid your wages.
The word spread quickly. By the late 1800s, "boss" was also being used for powerful politicians who controlled cities behind the scenes. Today it's used everywhere – and in very casual English, it has even become an adjective. If someone says your new shoes look "boss", they mean they look great.
Dutch also gave English several other everyday words, including "cookie", "yacht" and "landscape". Not bad for a small country on the North Sea.
几乎每个人都有老板，或者在某个时候有过老板。可是“boss”在英语里是个出奇年轻的词，而且它来自一种大多数人想不到的语言：荷兰语。
17 世纪，今天的纽约还是荷兰的殖民地，叫作新阿姆斯特丹。1664 年英国人接管了这里，但许多荷兰家庭留了下来，荷兰语在这一带又流传了很长时间。
荷兰语单词 baas 的意思是“主人”，也就是一个家、一间作坊或者一条船上管事的人。纽约说英语的人天天都能听到这个词，到了 19 世纪初，美国人把它借了过来，变成了“boss”。
他们为什么需要一个新词呢？英语里明明已经有“master”（主人）了。可在刚刚建国的美国，很多人觉得“master”听着不对劲。这是仆人和被奴役的人才用的称呼，许多自由的劳动者不喜欢把雇主叫作自己的“主人”。“boss”就中性多了，它只是指那个给你布置工作、给你发工资的人。
这个词传播得很快。到了 19 世纪末，“boss”还被用来指那些在幕后操控城市的政治大佬。今天，这个词无处不在——在非常口语化的英语里，它甚至变成了形容词。如果有人说你的新鞋看起来很“boss”，意思就是很棒。
荷兰语还给英语贡献了好几个日常词汇，比如“cookie”（饼干）、“yacht”（游艇）和“landscape”（风景）。对北海边上的一个小国来说，这成绩已经很不错了。