boatswain boatsman • boattail · · · Info · Definitions · Synonyms · Characters · · boatswain · · Text Latin · · Script 9 · · Length Definitions · · · (noun) a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen. Synonyms: bos'n, bo's'n, bosun, bo'sun. · · Noun Definition 1 Synonyms · · · bos'n · · Synonym 1 bo's'n · · Synonym 2 bosun · · Synonym 3 bo'sun · · Synonym 4 Characters · · a latin small letter a U+0061 b latin small letter b U+0062 i latin small letter i U+0069 n latin small letter n U+006E o latin small letter o U+006F s latin small letter s U+0073 t latin small letter t U+0074 w latin small letter w U+0077