Boche
Americannoun
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Boche,
plural
-
Boches
plural
noun
-
a German, esp a German soldier
-
(usually functioning as plural) Germans collectively, esp German soldiers regarded as the enemy
Sensitive Note
This term was originally French slang, perhaps from the Franco-Prussian War. In English, it appears today only in historical contexts.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Boche
First recorded in 1885–90; from French; of uncertain origin; possibly a shortening of Alboche, Alleboche “German,” equivalent to al(emand) “German” + (ca)boche “cabbage, blockhead, head of a nail”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“This is Hollywood. This is Los Angeles. Let them film. This is what they do here,” said Abraham Boche, a local resident.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 26, 2022
From a base hospital, one suffering doughboy was O.K. with his mother learning that “a Boche shell has played the devil with my beauty.”
From New York Times ● May 12, 2018
The youngest girl staying at the safe house is 10-year-old Boche.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2015
The band also hired booking agent David "Boche" Viecelli, whose Chicago-based company, Billions, had earned a reputation for shrewd bookings and personal artist relationships with bands like Pavement.
From Reuters ● Jul. 6, 2010
You see, a month or two ago Peter informed us that Boche was sure to have kittens before long, because her stomach was rapidly swelling.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
“We like to see each other’s lives and foibles and accidents,” says Edward Boches, a professor of advertising at Boston University.
From Time ● Feb. 20, 2014
Fentress and Bryan Boches, a Medley managing director, also met with then U.S.
From BusinessWeek ● Feb. 27, 2012
"We do not think in terms of locking someone in," says Ed Boches, public affairs director of Data General, a Massachusetts computer manufacturer.
From Time Magazine Archive
This chap they suspect gave information to the Boches.
From Ruth Fielding at the War Front or, The Hunt for the Lost Soldier by Alice B. Emerson
Yesterday," he wrote on October 21, 1916, "five Boches, three of them above our lines, came within ten meters of the muzzle of my gun, and impossible to shoot.
From Georges Guynemer Knight of the Air by Louise Morgan Sill
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
