bull

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbʊl/ (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA(key): /bʉl/ Rhymes: -ʊl === Etymology 1 === 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”). ==== Noun ==== bull (countable and uncountable, plural bulls) An adult male of domesticated cattle or oxen. Specifically, one that is uncastrated. (loosely) Any bovine of an aggressive or long-horned breed regardless of age and sex. A male of domesticated cattle or oxen of any age. Any adult male bovine. An adult male of certain large mammals, such as whales, elephants, camels and seals. A large, strong man. (finance) An investor who buys (commodities or securities) in anticipation of a rise in prices. (US, slang) A policeman; a detective; a railroad security guard. 2021, Rickie Lee Jones, Last Chance Texaco, Grive Press 2022, p. 93: You never waited until the train stopped to get off. The railroad bulls were waiting at the stops searching for freeloaders. (LGBTQ, slang) An elderly lesbian. (UK, historical, obsolete slang) A crown coin; its value, 5 shillings. Synonym: bullseye (UK) Clipping of bullseye. (military, firearms) The central portion of a target, inside the inner and magpie. (Philadelphia, slang) A man or boy (derived from the Philadelphia English pronunciation of “boy”, which is practically a homophone of “bull”) (uncountable, informal, euphemistic, slang) Clipping of bullshit. A man who has sex with someone else's partner, with the consent of both. Coordinate terms: cuckold, cuckquean, cuckcake (obsolete) A drink made by pouring water into a cask that previously held liquor. (slang, uncountable) Beef. ===== Synonyms ===== (cattle): gentleman cow (obsolete, euphemistic) (slang: male person): guy, dude, bro, cat (slang: policeman): cop, copper, pig (derogatory), rozzer (British). See also Thesaurus:police officer ===== Antonyms ===== (antonym(s) of “finance: investor who sells in anticipation of a fall in prices”): bear ===== Coordinate terms ===== cow, ox, calf, steer ===== Translations ===== ==== Adjective ==== bull (not comparable) Large and strong, like a bull. Synonyms: beefy, hunky, robust Antonyms: feeble, puny, weak (attributive, of large mammals) Adult male. Synonym: male Antonym: female (finance) Characterized by rising prices or belief that prices will rise. Antonym: bear Stupid. Synonym: stupid ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== bull (third-person singular simple present bulls, present participle bulling, simple past and past participle bulled) (intransitive, often with into or through) To force oneself (in a particular direction); to move aggressively. (agriculture, intransitive, of a cow or heifer) To be in heat; to be ready for mating with a bull. (agriculture, transitive, of a bull) To mate with (a cow or heifer). (finance, transitive) To endeavour to raise the market price of. (finance, transitive) To endeavour to raise prices in. ===== Translations ===== ==== Derived terms ==== (terms derived from the adj., noun, or verb bull (etymology 1)): === Etymology 2 === From Middle English bulle, from Old French bulle, from Latin bulla, from Gaulish. Doublet of bull (“bubble”) and bulla. ==== Noun ==== bull (plural bulls) A papal bull, an official document or edict from the Pope. Coordinate term: brief (shorter) 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) (dated) To publish in a papal bull. [17th century] === Etymology 3 === 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 woo, court”), related to German buhlen (“to woo”), English bully. Often reanalyzed by surface analysis to be an expurgated clipping of bullshit. ==== Noun ==== bull (uncountable) A lie. (euphemistic, informal) Nonsense. ===== Synonyms ===== (nonsense): See also Thesaurus:nonsense ===== Derived terms ===== bull session cock and bull ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== bull (third-person singular simple present bulls, present participle bulling, simple past and past participle bulled) To mock; to cheat. (intransitive) To lie, to tell untruths. (UK, military, transitive) To polish (boots) to a high shine. 2014, Sean Connolly, British Army on the Rampage (B.A.O.R.) (page 118) We were to repeat our normal practise of me bulling his boots and him ironing my kit. === Etymology 4 === From Middle English bowle, boule, from Old French boule (“ball”), from Latin bulla (“round swelling”), of Gaulish origin. Doublet of bull (“papal bull”) and bulla. ==== Noun ==== bull (plural bulls) (obsolete) A bubble. [16th century] === References === == Catalan == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈbuʎ] Homophone: vull Rhymes: -uʎ === Etymology 1 === Deverbal from bullir. ==== Noun ==== bull m (plural bulls) boiling effervescence === Etymology 2 === Inherited from Latin botulus (“sausage”). ==== Noun ==== bull m (plural bulls) a type of pork sausage ===== Related terms ===== budell === Etymology 3 === ==== Verb ==== bull inflection of bullir: third-person singular present indicative second-person singular imperative ==== Further reading ==== “bull”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007 == Cimbrian == === Etymology === Reduced form of bóol (“well”). === Adverb === bull (comparative péssor, superlative dar péste) (Sette Comuni) well Iime bull hölfasto, miar net, sbaar? ― He's helping you well, but not me, right? === References === “bull” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974), Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo == French == === Etymology === From a clipped form of French bulldozer, from American English bulldozer. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /bul/, /byl/ === Noun === bull m (plural bulls) (construction) bulldozer Synonym: bulldozer ==== Synonyms ==== bouldozeur (with a Francized / Frenchified spelling) == Icelandic == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /pʏtl/ Rhymes: -ʏtl === Noun === bull n (genitive singular bulls, no plural) nonsense, gibberish Synonyms: rugl, vitleysa, þvæla ==== Declension ==== ==== Related terms ==== bulla (“to talk nonsense, to boil”)