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Meek vs Bossy - What's the difference?

meek | bossy |

As adjectives the difference between meek and bossy

is that meek is humble, modest, meager, or self-effacing while bossy is tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering.

As a verb meek

is to tame; to break.

As a noun bossy is

a cow or calf.

meek

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Humble, modest, meager, or self-effacing.
  • * 1848:
    • Mrs. Wickam was a meek woman...who was always ready to pity herself, or to be pitied, or to pity anybody else...
  • * "Blessed are the meek , for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5)
  • Submissive, dispirited.
  • * 1920: , Main Street [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=/texts/english/modeng/publicsearch/modengpub.o2w&act=surround&offset=432765822&tag=Lewis,+Sinclair:+Main+Street,+1920&query=+meek&id=LewMain]
    • What if they were wolves instead of lambs? They'd eat her all the sooner if she was meek to them. Fight or be eaten.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (US) (of horses) To .

    • bossy

    English

    Etymology 1

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering.
    • Synonyms
    * dictatorial, authoritarian, commanding, tyrannical, demanding, inflexible * see also

    Etymology 2

    Diminutive of dialectal English boss, as used in the term ).

    Noun

    (bossies)
  • (US, informal, dated) A cow or calf.
  • * about 1900 , O. Henry,
    • A week before, while riding the prairies, Raidler had come upon a sick and weakling calf deserted and bawling. Without dismounting he had reached and slung the distressed bossy across his saddle, and dropped it at the ranch for the boys to attend to.

    Etymology 3

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Ornamented with bosses; studded.
    • ----