Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BOSS'AGE, n. [from boss; Fr. bossage.]

1. A stone in a building which has a projective, and is laid rough, to be afterward carved into moldings, capitals, coats of arms, &c. – Encyc.
2. Rustic work, consisting of stones which advance beyond the naked or level of the building, by reason of indentures or channels left in the joinings; chiefly in the corners of edifices, and called rustic quoins. The cavities are sometimes round, sometimes beveled, or in a diamond form, sometimes inclosed with a cavetto, and sometimes with a listel. – Encyc.