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Webster 1913 Edition

Bull

Bull

,
Noun.
[OE.
bule
,
bul
,
bole
; akin to D.
bul
, G.
bulle
, Icel.
boli
, Lith.
bullus
, Lett.
bollis
, Russ.
vol’
; prob. fr. the root of AS.
bellan
, E.
bellow
.]
1.
(Zool.)
The male of any species of cattle (
Bovidæ
); hence, the male of any large quadruped, as the elephant; also, the male of the whale.
☞ The wild bull of the Old Testament is thought to be the oryx, a large species of antelope.
2.
One who, or that which, resembles a bull in character or action.
Ps. xxii. 12.
3.
(Astron.)
(a)
Taurus, the second of the twelve signs of the zodiac.
(b)
A constellation of the zodiac between Aries and Gemini. It contains the Pleiades.
At last from Aries rolls the bounteous sun,
And the bright
Bull
receives him.
Thomson.
4.
(Stock Exchange)
One who operates in expectation of a rise in the price of stocks, or in order to effect such a rise. See 4th
Bear
,
Noun.
, 5.
Bull baiting
,
the practice of baiting bulls, or rendering them furious, as by setting dogs to attack them.
–
John Bull
,
a humorous name for the English, collectively; also, an Englishman.
“Good-looking young John Bull.”
W. D.Howells.
–
To take the bull by the horns
,
to grapple with a difficulty instead of avoiding it.

Bull

,
Adj.
Of or pertaining to a bull; resembling a bull; male; large; fierce.
Bull bat
(Zool.)
,
the night hawk; – so called from the loud noise it makes while feeding on the wing, in the evening.
–
Bull calf
.
(a)
A stupid fellow.
–
Bull mackerel
(Zool.)
,
the chub mackerel.
–
Bull pump
(Mining)
,
a direct single-acting pumping engine, in which the steam cylinder is placed above the pump.
–
Bull snake
(Zool.)
,
the pine snake of the United States.
–
Bull stag
,
a castrated bull. See
Stag
.
–
Bull wheel
,
a wheel, or drum, on which a rope is wound for lifting heavy articles, as logs, the tools in well boring, etc.

Bull

,
Verb.
I.
To be in heat; to manifest sexual desire as cows do.
[Colloq.]

Bull

,
Verb.
T.
(Stock Exchange)
To endeavor to raise the market price of;
as, to
bull
railroad bonds; to bull stocks; to bull Lake Shore
; to endeavor to raise prices in;
as, to
bull
the market
. See 1st
Bull
,
Noun.
, 4.

Bull

,
Noun.
[OE.
bulle
, fr. L.
bulla
bubble, stud, knob, LL., a seal or stamp: cf. F.
bulle
. Cf.
Bull
a writing,
Bowl
a ball,
Boil
,
Verb.
I.
]
1.
A seal. See
Bulla
.
2.
A letter, edict, or respect, of the pope, written in Gothic characters on rough parchment, sealed with a bulla, and dated “a die Incarnationis,” i. e., “from the day of the Incarnation.” See Apostolical brief, under
Brief
.
A fresh
bull
of Leo's had declared how inflexible the court of Rome was in the point of abuses.
Atterbury.
3.
A grotesque blunder in language; an apparent congruity, but real incongruity, of ideas, contained in a form of expression; so called, perhaps, from the apparent incongruity between the dictatorial nature of the pope's bulls and his professions of humility.
And whereas the papist boasts himself to be a Roman Catholic, it is a mere contradiction, one of the pope's
bulls
, as if he should say universal particular; a Catholic schimatic.
Milton.
The Golden Bull
,
an edict or imperial constitution made by the emperor Charles IV. (1356), containing what became the fundamental law of the German empire; – so called from its golden seal.
Syn. – See
Blunder
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Bull

BULL

,
Noun.
1.
The male of the Bos, or bovine genus of quadrupeds, of which cow is the female.
2.
In a scriptural sense, an enemy,powerful, fierce and violent.
Many bulls have compassed me. Psalms.
3.
Taurus, one of the twelve signs of the zodiac.

BULL

,
Noun.
[L. bulla, a boss, and an ornament worn on a child's neck. This name was given to the seal which was appended to the edicts and briefs of the Pope,and in process of time, applied to the edict itself.]
1.
A letter, edict or rescript of the Pope, published or transmitted to the churches over which he is head, containing some decree, order or decision. It is used chiefly in matters of justice or of grace. If the former, the lead or seal is hung by a hempen cord; if the latter,by a silken thread. The lead or bull is impressed on one side with the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul; on the other with the name of the Pope and the year of his pontificate. The writing is in the old, round Gothic letter; and the instrument has about it a cross with some text of scripture, or religious motto.
The Golden Bull, so called from its golden seal, is an edict or imperial constitution, made by the Emperor Charles V., containing the fundamental law of the German Empire.
Leaden Bulls were sent by the Emperors of Constantinople to patriarchs and princes; and by the grandees of the Empire of France, Sicily, &c., and by patriarchs and bishops.
Waxen bulls were in frequent use with the Greek Emperors, who thus sealed letters to their relations.
1.
A blunder or contradiction.

BULL

, a prefix, signifies a bull, or large, or having a large head.

Definition 2024

Bull

Bull

See also: bull and Bull.

English

Proper noun

Bull

  1. A surname​ derived from the name of the animal.

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German bolla, from Proto-Germanic *bullǭ. Cognate with German Bolle, Dutch bol, English bowl, Icelandic bolli.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bul/
  • Rhymes: -ul

Noun

Bull f ‎(plural Bullen)

  1. ball
  2. hot water bottle

Synonyms

bull

bull

See also: Bull and Bull.

English

Noun

A statue of a Spanish fighting bull or toro de lidia in Tordesillas, Valladolid, Spain

bull ‎(plural bulls)

  1. An adult male of domesticated cattle or oxen.
    1. Specifically, one that is uncastrated.
  2. A male of domesticated cattle or oxen of any age.
  3. An adult male of certain large mammals, such as whales, elephants and seals.
  4. A large, strong man.
  5. (finance) An investor who buys (commodities or securities) in anticipation of a rise in prices.
  6. (slang) A policeman.
    • 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, The Bat, chapterI:
      The Bat—they called him the Bat. […]. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.
  7. (Britain, historical, obsolete slang) A crown coin; its value, 5 shillings.
  8. (Britain) Short for bullseye.
  9. (Philadelphia, slang) A man.
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • (finance: investor who buys in anticipation of a rise in prices): bear
Coordinate terms
Translations

Adjective

bull ‎(not comparable)

  1. Large and strong, like a bull.
  2. (of large mammals) adult male
    a bull elephant
  3. (finance) Of a market in which prices are rising (compare bear)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations

Verb

bull ‎(third-person singular simple present bulls, present participle bulling, simple past and past participle bulled)

  1. (intransitive) To force oneself (in a particular direction).
    He bulled his way in.
  2. (intransitive) To lie, to tell untruths.
  3. (intransitive) To be in heat; to manifest sexual desire as cows do.
  4. (Britain, military) To polish boots to a high shine.
  5. (finance, transitive) To endeavour to raise the market price of.
    to bull railroad bonds
  6. (finance, transitive) To endeavour to raise prices in.
    to bull the market
Translations

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English bulle, from Old French bulle, from Low Latin bulla.

Noun

bull ‎(plural bulls)

  1. A papal bull, an official document or edict from the Pope.
  2. A seal affixed to a document, especially a document from the Pope.
Translations

Verb

bull ‎(third-person singular simple present bulls, present participle bulling, simple past and past participle bulled)

  1. (dated, 17th century) to publish in a Papal bull

Etymology 3

From Middle English bull ‎(“falsehood”), of unknown origin. Possibly related to Old French boul, boule, bole ‎(“fraud, deceit, trickery”). Popularly associated with bullshit.

Noun

bull ‎(uncountable)

  1. A lie.
  2. (euphemistic, informal) Nonsense.
Synonyms
  • (nonsense): See also Wikisaurus:nonsense
Translations

Verb

bull ‎(third-person singular simple present bulls, present participle bulling, simple past and past participle bulled)

  1. to mock, cheat

Etymology 4

From Old French boule ‎(“ball”), from Latin bulla ‎(“round swelling”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhel ‎(“to blow, to swell”).

Noun

bull ‎(plural bulls)

  1. (16th century, obsolete) a bubble

Catalan

Noun

bull m ‎(plural bulls)

  1. the agitation of a liquid which is boiling
  2. effervescence
  3. a type of pork sausage

Related terms

Verb

bull

  1. third-person singular present indicative form of bullir
  2. second-person singular imperative form of bullir

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /byl/

Etymology

From bulldozer.

Noun

bull m ‎(plural bulls)

  1. (construction) bulldozer

Synonyms

Icelandic

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pʏtl/
  • Rhymes: -ʏtl

Noun

bull n ‎(genitive singular bulls, no plural)

  1. nonsense, gibberish

Declension

Synonyms

Etymology

From Middle English bul, bule, from Old English bula ‎(“bull, steer”), from Proto-Germanic *bulô ‎(“bull”); compare West Frisian bolle, Dutch bul, German Bulle, Old Norse boli, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥no- (compare Old Irish ball ‎(“limb”), Latin follis ‎(“bellows, leather bag”), Thracian βόλινθος ‎(“wild bull”), Albanian "buall" (bull) or related bolle ‎(“testicles”), Ancient Greek φαλλός ‎(phallós, “****”)), from Proto-Indo-European *bhel ‎(“to blow”). More at blow.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bʊl/
  • Rhymes: -ʊl

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