bull

bull · noun, adjective, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-
2. Proto-Germanic*bulô
3. Old Englishbula
4. Proto-Germanic*bulô
5. Old Norseboli
6. Middle Englishbole
7. English todaybull

From Middle English bole, bul, bule, from a conflation of Old English bula (“bull, steer”) and Old Norse boli, both from Proto-Germanic *bulô (“bull”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥no-, from *bʰel- (“to blow, swell up”). Cognate with West Frisian bolle, Dutch bul, German Low German Bull, German Bulle, Swedish bulla; also Old Irish ball (“limb”), Latin follis (“bellows, leather bag”), Albanian bolle (“testicles”), Ancient Greek φαλλός (phallós, “penis”). Of noun sense 2.6, (a man or boy), derived from the Philadelphia English pronunciation of boy, which is practically a homophone of bull.

bull · noun, verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European*bew-der.?
2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-der.?
3. Latinbulla
4. Old Frenchbulle
5. Middle Englishbulle
6. English todaybull

From Middle English bulle, from Old French bulle, from Latin bulla, from Gaulish. Doublet of bull (“bubble”) and bulla.

bull · noun, verb³

1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰā-
2. Proto-Germanic*bō-
3. Middle Low Germanbôlen
4. Old Frenchbouler
5. Old Frenchbou
6. Middle Englishbull
7. English todaybull

From Middle English bull, bul, boule (“falsehood, deceit”), probably from Old French boul, boule, bole (“fraud, deceit, cunning”), from Old French bouler, boler (“to deceive, delude, lure, take in”), from Middle Low German bôlen (“to court, to woo”). Cognate with German buhlen (“to woo”). Doublet of bully. Often reanalyzed by surface analysis to be an expurgated clipping of bullshit.

bull · noun⁴

1. Proto-Indo-European*bew-der.?
2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-der.?
3. Latinbulla
4. Old Frenchbulle
5. Middle Englishbowle
6. English todaybull

From Middle English bowle, boule, from Old French bulle, boule (“ball”), from Latin bulla (“round swelling”), of Gaulish origin. Doublet of bull (“papal bull”) and bulla.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• 17th century To publish in a papal bull.
• 16th century A bubble.