▪ I. bosom, n.
(ˈbʊzəm)
Forms: 1 bósm, bósum, 2–3 bosm, bosem, Orm. bosemm, 3–6 bosum (in 6 only Sc.), 4–7 bosome, (6 bosym, bowsum, boosome), 4– bosom.
[OE. bósm = OFris. bósm, OS. bósom (MDu. boesem, Du. boezem), OHG. buosam (MHG. buosem, mod.G. busen):—WGer. *bôsm- (not in EGer.). Remoter etymology unknown: it has been conjectured that *bôsmo- stands for *bôh-smo, f. *bôhu-:—OAryan *bhâghu-s arm (bough); the word would then, like the partially synonymous fathom, primarily mean the space embraced by the two arms.]
I. 1. a. The breast of a human being; also poet. of a bird, etc.
| c 1000 ælfric Numb. xi. 12 Ðæt ic hiᵹ bære on minum bosume, swa fostormodor deþ cyld. 1382 Wyclif John xiii. 23 Oon of his disciplis was restinge in the bosum of Jhesu. c 1440 York Myst. xv. 104 A baren broche by a belle of tynne At youre bosom to be. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 646 Within my bosom..My boding heart pants. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 19 Progne, with her Bosom stained in Blood. 1847 Tennyson Princ. ii. 88 Doves That sun their milky bosoms on the thatch. 1864 ― Aylmer's F. 687 The babe Too ragged to be fondled on her lap, Warm'd at her bosom? |
b. The enclosure formed by the breast and the arms.
in one's bosom: clasped to one's breast. Now only
arch., and chiefly in
fig. Scriptural phrases,
e.g. in Abraham's bosom (
cf. Luke xvi. 22): in the abode of the blessed dead.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 53 Alse heo heom [heore euencristene] walde in to heore bosme puten. c 1200 Ormin 19391 Iesu Crist..Þatt inn hiss Faderr bosemm iss. 1382 Wyclif Mic. vii. 5 Hir that restith in thi bosum. 1420 E.E. Wills (1882) 47 That he resseyue me yn-to þe brode bosum off his mercy. 1578 Gude & Godlie Ballates (1868) 36 Quhen Lazarus he saw..In his bosome. 1816 W. Hollar Dance Death xix. 53 Death..attacks this warrior, in the bosom of victory. 1866 Neale Seq. & Hymns 162 The child was in Abraham's bosom. |
c. wife of one's bosom:
orig. a Hebraism adopted in the Bible of 1611; but its
Eng. use is influenced by senses 6 a and b. (The similar phrase
husband of one's bosom,
Deut. xxviii. 56, never became current.) Hence,
to take to one's bosom: to marry.
| 1611 Bible Deut. xiii. 6 The wife of thy bosome. Ibid. xxviii. 56 The husband of her bosome. 1747 Hervey Medit. (1753) II. 53 The Wife of his Bosom may expire by his Side. 1814 T. Jefferson Corr. (1830) 233 Not even the wife of his bosom. 1881 W. P. Lennox Plays, &c. I. 37 The woman he had taken to his bosom. |
† d. transf. The womb.
Obs.| 971 Blickl. Hom. 5 Heo onfeng on hire medmycclan bosm God Fæder Sunu. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 131 Of alle þe bernes, þe ben boren of wifes bosem. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 411 Sonnis als of thair bosumis tha bair. |
e. pl. In recent use, a woman's breasts.
colloq.| 1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 68 Snaps of the Dean sell like hot ice-cream among vintage women with too many bosoms and time on their hands. 1961 L. Hughes Ask your Mama 72 Sojourner..Bared her bosoms, bared in public To prove she was a woman. 1965 I. Fleming Man with Golden Gun v. 70 She gave him a quick glimpse of fine bosoms as she bent to the door of the icebox. 1978 C. Beaton Parting Years 2 Can you really imagine that is the way the arm comes out of the socket? Look at their bosoms—they're nowhere near where they should be. Have you ever seen a naked woman? 1986 Observer 2 Mar. 60/1 She was larger than lifesize: enormous buttocks and stomach, with two medium-sized watermelons for bosoms. |
2. fig. Applied to the surface of the sea, a lake, a river, or the ground: with various associations from the literal sense.
| a 1000 Andreas 444 (Gr.) Of brimes bosme. 1595 Shakes. John iv. i. 3 When I strike my foot Vpon the bosome of the ground. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 557 [A river] which before Tall Ships of Burthen on its Bosom bore. 1750 G. Hughes Barbados 220 From the bosoms of some of the upper leaves rise small pedicles. 1816 G. S. Faber Orig. Pagan Idol. III. 11 A small island was consecrated in the bosom of a deep lake. 1837 Wordsworth Tour Italy Sonn. xxvi, Tossed on the bosom of a stormy sea. 1873 Black Pr. Thule x. 160 The broad bosom of the stream. |
3. transf. a. The part of the dress which covers the breast; also the space included between the breast and its covering.
b. spec. Considered as the receptacle for money or letters, formerly answering to modern use of ‘pocket’.
c. to give (requite, etc.) into one's bosom (a Hebraism derived from the Bible).
| a 1121 O.E. Chron. an. 1086 (Laud MS.) Mid his bosum full goldes. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2811 In hise bosum he dede his hond. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 565 This Chanon took out a Crosselet Of his bosom. 1388 Wyclif Luke vi. 38 Thei schulen ȝyue in to ȝoure bosum a good mesure. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 b, A synguler iewell to bere in my bosom. 1580 Baret Alv. B 958 To put money in ones bosom. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 10 That thou put this Letter in thy Bosome. 1834 Marryat P. Simple xii, A large frill to his bosom. |
d. The front of a shirt.
U.S.| 1863 Horticulturist (Albany, N.Y.) Dec. 4 Shirt and bosom makers. 1872 N.Y. Times 24 Apr. 8 Advt. (Hoppe), Shirts made to order, with beautifully embroidered Bosoms. 1945 B. A. Botkin Lay My Burden Down 51 Please don't let my gal see under my coat, 'cause I got on a bosom and no shirt. |
4. A curved recess; a cavity, hollow interior; a sinus. [
Cf. Lat. sinus.]
† a. The hull or the hold of a ship.
Obs.| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 1306 (Gr.) Gescype scylfan on scipes bosme. c 1205 Lay. 7849 Scipen gunnen helden . Bosmes þer rendden{revsc} Water in wende. |
† b. Phys. The cavity of the stomach; one of the chambers of the heart; a recess or angle in which two bones meet.
Obs.| 1578 Banister Hist. Man i. 29 The vj bone is fastened to the angular bosome of the Postbrachiall bones. 1610 P. Barrough Meth. Physick iii. i. 101 The bosome of the stomack. 1662 J. Chandler Van Helmont's Oriat. 178 There is Hedge or Partition between both bosomes of the Heart. |
† c. A concave bend in a coast-line, or the part of the sea embraced by it; a bay.
Obs.| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. C. 107 Þe blyþe breþe at her bak þe bosum he fyndes. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. (1822) 449 The bosum of the seyis, quhare the Venicianis dwellis. 1600 Fairfax Tasso xix. viii, Where into creeks and bosoms blind A winding hill his corners turn'd and cast. 1685 R. Burton Eng. Emp. Amer. iv. 70 They were..cast upon a bosom of the South Cape of Massachusets Bay. |
d. poet. The ‘belly’ or curvature of a sail before the wind. (
Cf. bosom v. 1.)
| 1872 Blackie Lays Highl. 7 A strong south-wester blowing Strained the bosom of their sail. |
e. Mech. The recess or depression round the eye of a millstone; the ‘breast’ or curvature of a plough-share; also in
Shipbuilding, the concave curvature of a frame.
| 1813 A. Young Agric. Essex I. 134 This degree of roundness and fulness in the bosom [of a plough] is necessary on heavy ground. 1869 E. J. Reed Ship Build. viii. 149 The beam-plate is run into the bosom of the frame and rivetted to it. |
5. a. Expressing a local relation: The interior, the midst: sometimes a development of sense 4, but often with a reference to one of the senses ‘embrace’ (1 b), ‘bosom of garment’ (3 b), and ‘womb’ (1 d).
| 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. i. xxv. 79 Enuyrone thyn aduersaryes..wythin the bosom of thyn ooste. 1595 Spenser Col. Clout 243 Fishes..Which in the bosome of the billowes breed. 1663 Boyle Usefulness Nat. Philos. i. iv. 66 Quick⁓silver..will swallow up Gold, and hide it in its Bosom. 1849 Robertson Serm. Ser. i. ii. (1866) 37 The seed lying in the genial bosom of the earth. 1861 Geo. Eliot Silas M. 1 Deep in the bosom of the hills. |
b. fig. in the bosom of one's family: in the privacy of the domestic circle (usually also implying family affection and confidence).
in the bosom of a church (or other association): within the inner circle of its membership. And the like.
| a 1600 Hooker (J.) They which live within the bosom of that church. 1803 J. Porter Thaddeus i. (1831) 2 Within the bosom of his family. 1833 I. Taylor Fanat. i. 13 In the bosom of the Church rests the hope of the conversion of the world. 1839 Thirlwall Hist. Greece vii. 173 The traitors whom Athens had..cast out from her bosom. 1873 Morley Rousseau I. 37 He was publicly received into the kindly bosom of the true church. |
6. fig. The breast considered as the seat of thoughts and feelings.
Cf. heart.
a. The repository of secret thoughts and counsels: hence used for ‘inward thoughts’ (
quot. 1604).
† to be of (a person's) bosom: to be entrusted with his secrets.
friend of one's bosom:
cf. bosom friend.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 148, I mine boseme..is al mi hope iholden. 1382 Wyclif Job xxxi. 33 If I..hilede in my bosum my wickenesse. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 216 Emptying our bosomes, of their counsell sweld. 1604 ― Oth. iii. i. 58 You shall haue time To speake your bosome freely. 1605 ― Lear iv. v. 26, I know you are of her bosome. a 1643 W. Cartwright Lady Errant iii. i. (1651) 29 We enterchange Bosoms, and counsels, thoughts and souls. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 428 ¶2 The man..is shunn'd to⁓day by the Friend of his Bosom. 1813 T. Jefferson Corr. (1830) 194 A confidential communication..deposited in his bosom, and never meant to trouble the public mind. |
b. The seat of emotions, desires, etc.: hence used for ‘desire’ (
quot. 1603).
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 105 Wreððe hafð wununge on þes dusian bosme. 1595 Shakes. John iv. i. 32 His words do take possession of my bosome. 1603 ― Meas. for M. iv. iii. 139 You shal haue your bosome on this wretch. 1625 Bacon Ess. Ep. Ded. (Arb.) 498 They come home to Mens Businesse and Bosomes. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 364 Far from my bosom drive the low desire. 1818 Gentl. Mag. LXXXVIII. ii. 153 The cause comes home to the bosom of every man under the British Government. 1842 Tennyson Amphion 102, I will not vex my bosom. |
† 7. a. Transferred to a person. (
Cf. the similar use of
hand,
heart,
head, etc. for their possessor.)
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. Cho. 21 A nest of hollow bosomes. 1608 Middleton Mad World ii. i, I'll pawn my credit for him, an honest, trusty bosom. 1651 Jer. Taylor Holy Living (1727) 249 He is the proper object and bosom to whom the restitution is to be made. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters II. 198 Inscribed to a Bosom fraught with every Social Virtue. |
b. ellipt. for
bosom friend.
| 1913 A. M. N. Lyons Simple Simon i. vi. 90 He's a darling. He and me are bosoms. 1959 B. Ruck Romantic Afterthought xxvii. 138, I don't go in for buddies and ‘bosoms’. |
II. Comb. and
attrib. 8. General relations, chiefly attributive:
a. Worn upon or carried in the bosom: as in
bosom-book,
bosom-brooch,
bosom-pin,
bosom-vesture.
| 1617 Janua Ling Advt. ad fin., If not as a manuall or pocket-booke, yet a pectorall or *bosome-booke, to be carried twixt jerkin and doublet. |
| 1835 Hawthorne Amer. Note-bks. (1871) I. 7 The bar-keeper had one of Benton's mint-drops for a *bosom-brooch. |
| 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. ii. v, The *bosom-vesture of Summer. |
b. Pertaining to the bosom as the seat of thoughts and feelings: as in
bosom-balm,
bosom-broil,
bosom-comfort,
bosom-devil,
bosom-hell,
bosom-peace,
bosom-prophecy,
bosom-throe, etc.
| 1742 Young Nt. Th. ii. 171 Our thoughts at enmity; our *bosom-broil. |
| a 1656 Bp. Hall Soliloquies 61 Guiltiness..like a *bosom-devil would ever torment itself. |
| 1674 Flatman Agst. Thoughts 7/4 These anguishes, this *bosome-Hell. |
| 1659 Flatman Dooms-day Th. 66 When..Conscience..all our *bosom-secrets breaks. |
| 1858 Hood Hero & L. xvii, The agony and *bosom-throe. |
c. Cherished in the bosom: hence usually
= dear, beloved, ‘darling’: as in
bosom-child,
bosom-sin,
bosom-son,
bosom-vanity,
bosom-vice,
bosom-wickedness.
| 1862 Goulburn Pers. Relig. 179 The *bosom-adder of vanity. |
| 1838 Wordsw. To Sleep, Dear *Bosom-child we call thee. |
| 1620 Sanderson Serm. I. 142 Far off from medling with his *bosom sin. 1740 Wesley Wks. (1872) XIV. 327 Their bosom sins, or the sins which did most easily beset them. |
| 1678 Yng. Man's Call. 143 Turn away your eyes from *bosome vanities. |
| 1705 Stanhope Paraphr. III. 61 If..some One darling *Bosom-vice be left unmortified. |
d. Intimate, confidential: as in
bosom-communion,
bosom-counsel,
bosom-friendship,
bosom-interest,
bosom-lover.
| 1650 T. Goodwin Wks. (1865) X. 557 How canst thou think God should..take thee into immediate *bosom-communion with himself? |
| 1619 King Serm. 19 Did he then thinke..of a *bosome enemie? |
| 1860 C. Patmore Faithf. for Ever 89 Take no wife Who to your stooping feels she owes Her name; such debts make *bosom-foes. |
| 1742 Young Nt. Th. i. 340 Like *bosom friendships to resentment sour'd. |
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. iv. 17 Anthonio..the *bosome louer of my Lord. |
e. locative with
pple. or
ppl. adj., as in
bosom-reigning,
bosom-stricken (other examples in 9).
| 1645 Quarles Sol. Recant. Eccles. iv. 5 With yauning lips, and *bosome-folded hands. |
| 1637 Preston Mt. Ebal (1638) 32 We must confesse our beloved *bosome-raigning sinnes. |
| 1855 Singleton Virgil II. 474 The *bosom-stricken dames their woman's shout Raise to the stars of heaven. |
9. Special comb.:
† bosom-bird,
fig. a bosom friend;
bosom-deep a. (adv.), up to the bosom (
cf. ankle-deep);
bosom-felt ppl. a.,
= heartfelt;
bosom-hung ppl. a., hanging down upon the bosom;
† bosom-mischief, ? the root of the mischief;
† bosom-partner, a wife;
† bosom-piece, ? a piece of attire covering the bosom;
fig. a bosom friend;
† bosom-sermon, one learnt by heart and recited;
† bosom-slave, a concubine;
bosom-staff, an instrument used in testing the straightness of the faces of millstones (see 4 e).
| 1655 Trapp Marrow Gd. Auth. (1868) 836/2 One of his *bosom-birds, Porphyry. |
| 1882 Rossetti Rose Mary iii. vi, She had waded *bosom-deep Along death's bank in the sedge of sleep. |
| 1771 Smollett in Anderson Brit. Poets (1795) X. 959/2 His *bosom-felt wo. |
| a 1662 Heylin Laud i. 161 Eunomius, the *bosom-mischief of those times. |
| 1633 Ford Love's Sacr. i. i. (1839) 76 The *bosom-partner of my lord. |
| 1619 Beaum. & Fl. Valentin. ii. iii, Was I your *bosom-piece for this? |
| 1594 Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits (1616) 149 Which these cannot bring about, who haue conned *bosome-sermons. |
| 1728 Thomson Spring 1131 Let eastern tyrants, from the light of heaven Seclude their *bosom-slaves. |
B. as
adj. Private, confidential, intimate.
| 1640 Habington Hist. Edw. IV, 224 Lewys freeing himselfe from so bosome an enemie by poysoning Charles. 1648 Symmons Vind. Chas. I, 307 He tells her in his most bosom expressions, that, etc. |
▪ II. bosom, v. (
ˈbʊzəm)
[f. prec. n.] † 1. intr. To form a bosom; to belly. ?
Obs.| c 1375 Barbour Troy-bk. ii. 1699 Thai..halit wp þare salis hie That bowsummit with þe wyndis blast. |
2. trans. To put into the bosom.
| 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas i. vii. (1641) 60/2 Bosoming his hand. 1819 B. W. Proctor (B. Cornwall) Dram. Sc., A. Wentworth i, I like to see you bosom them [violets]. |
3. trans. To take to the bosom, embrace;
fig. to receive into intimate companionship.
| 1605 Shakes. Lear v. i. 13, I am doubtful that you have been conjunct, And bosom'd with her. 1633 Ford Broken H. iv. i. (1811) 296 Ixion, aiming To embrace Juno, bosomed but a cloud. 1634 Heywood Maidenh. Lost i. Wks. 1874 IV. 106 A Prince hath bin repulst, and meanest persons Bosom'd. 1840 E. Elliott Vill. Patriarch Poet. Wks. 55 He has long been bosomed with me. |
† b. intr. To have familiar intercourse.
Obs. rare.
| 1633 Ford Love's Sacr. iv. i, You were wont To bosom in his counsels. 1637 Heywood Dialogues ii. 121 She..Doth with this Monster bosome, drinke, and eat. |
4. transf. and
fig. To carry or enclose in the bosom; to embosom.
| 1632 Milton Allegro 78 Towers and battlements..Bosom'd high in tufted trees. 1634 ― Comus 368 The sweet peace that goodness bosoms ever. 1792 Wordsw. Descript. Sk. Poet. Wks. I. 72 Como, bosomed deep in chestnut groves. 1817 Byron Manfred i. i. 115 Space bosom'd not a lovelier star. |
5. fig. To hide (a secret) in the bosom; to take to heart, keep in mind. Also with
up.
| 1606 Day Ile of Gulls B iv b, Ile bosome what I thinke. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. i. 112 Bosome vp my counsell. 1839 Bailey Festus xiv, Be mine, dear maid, the loves, and thou Shalt ever bosom them as now. |
† 6. To wound or hit in the bosom.
nonce-use.
| 1631 Heywood Maid of West iii. Wks. 1874 II. 295, I bosom'd him at every second thrust. |