BULL
bull
(noun) a serious and ludicrous blunder; âhe made a bad bull of the assignmentâ
bull
(noun) mature male of various mammals of which the female is called âcowâ; e.g. whales or elephants or especially cattle
bull
(noun) uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
bullshit, bull, Irish bull, horseshit, shit, crap, dogshit
(noun) obscene words for unacceptable behavior; âI put up with a lot of bullshit from that jerkâ; âwhat he said was mostly bullâ
bull, papal bull
(noun) a formal proclamation issued by the pope (usually written in antiquated characters and sealed with a leaden bulla)
Taurus, Taurus the Bull, Bull
(noun) the second sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about April 20 to May 20
Taurus, Bull
(noun) (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Taurus
bull, bruiser, strapper, Samson
(noun) a large and strong and heavyset man; âhe was a bull of a manâ; âa thick-skinned bruiser ready to give as good as he gotâ
bull
(noun) an investor with an optimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to rise and so buys now for resale later
bull, cop, copper, fuzz, pig
(noun) uncomplimentary terms for a policeman
bull
(verb) advance in price; âstocks were bullingâ
bull
(verb) try to raise the price of stocks through speculative buying
bull, bull through
(verb) push or force; âHe bulled through his demandsâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
bull (countable and uncountable, plural bulls)
An adult male of domesticated cattle or oxen.
Specifically, one that is uncastrated.
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.
(slang) A policeman.
(US) Specifically, a policeman employed in a railroad yard.
(UK, historical, obsolete slang) A crown coin; its value, 5 shillings.
(UK) Clipping of bullseye.
(military, firearms) The central portion of a target, inside the inner and magpie.
(Philadelphia, slang) A man.
(uncountable, informal, euphemistic, slang) Clipping of bullshit.
A man who has sex with another man's wife or girlfriend with the consent of both.
(obsolete) A drink made by pouring water into a cask that previously held liquor.
Synonyms
• (slang: male person): guy, dude, bro, cat
• (slang: policeman): cop, copper, pig (derogatory), rozzer (British). See also police officer
Antonyms
• (finance: investor who sells in anticipation of a fall in prices): bear
Coordinate terms
• cow, ox, calf, steer
Adjective
bull (not comparable)
Large and strong, like a bull.
• Synonyms: beefy, hunky, robust
• Antonyms: feeble, puny, weak
(of large mammals) adult male
Synonym: male
Antonym: female
(finance) Of a market in which prices are rising (compare bear)
Antonym: bear
stupid
Synonym: stupid
Etymology 2
Shortened from bullshit
Verb
bull (third-person singular simple present bulls, present participle bulling, simple past and past participle bulled)
(intransitive) To force oneself (in a particular direction).
(intransitive) To lie, to tell untruths.
(intransitive) To be in heat; to manifest sexual desire as cows do.
(UK, military) To polish boots to a high shine.
(finance, transitive) To endeavour to raise the market price of.
(finance, transitive) To endeavour to raise prices in.
Etymology 3
Noun
bull (plural bulls)
A papal bull, an official document or edict from the Pope.
A seal affixed to a document, especially a document from the Pope.
Verb
bull (third-person singular simple present bulls, present participle bulling, simple past and past participle bulled)
(dated, 17th century) to publish in a Papal bull
Etymology 4
Noun
bull (uncountable)
A lie.
(euphemistic, informal) Nonsense.
Synonyms
• (nonsense): See also nonsense
Verb
bull (third-person singular simple present bulls, present participle bulling, simple past and past participle bulled)
to mock, cheat
Etymology 5
Noun
bull (plural bulls)
(16th century, obsolete) A bubble.
Proper noun
Bull
A surname derived from the name of the animal.
Source: Wiktionary
Bull, n. Etym: [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. (Zoöl.)
Definition: The male of any species of cattle (BovidĂŠ); hence, the male of
any large quadruped, as the elephant; also, the male of the whale.
Note: 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)
Definition: One who operates in expectation of a rise in the price of
stocks, or in order to effect such a rise. See 4th Bear, n., 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, a.
Definition: Of or pertaining to a bull; resembling a bull; male; large;
fierce. Bull bat (Zoöl.), 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 (Zoöl.), the chub mackerel.
– Bull pump (Mining), a direct single-acting pumping engine, in
which the steam cylinder is placed above the pump.
– Bull snake (Zoöl.), 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, v. i.
Definition: To be in heat; to manifest sexual desire as cows do. [Colloq.]
Bull, v. t. (Stock Exchange)
Definition: 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, n., 4.
Bull, n. Etym: [OE. bulle, fr. L. bulla bubble, stud, knob, LL., a
seal or stamp: cf. F. bulle. Cf. Bull a writing, Bowl a ball, Boil,
v. 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition