Plural of bosun; naval officers responsible for maintaining a ship's hull, rigging, and overseeing the ship's crew on deck.
From 'bosun' (short for 'boatswain'), which comes from Middle English 'bo(t)swayn' (boat + swain, meaning 'boat servant'). 'Swain' originally meant a young servant or attendant.
The title 'boatswain' is one of the oldest continuous job titles in English—it goes back to medieval ships, and 'bosun' is its salty shortened form, the way sailors have always talked.
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