Bull BULL, n. 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, n. [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, etc.,
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. BULL'-BAITING, n. [bull
and bait.] The practice of baiting or exciting bulls with dogs. BULL'-BEEF, n. [bull and beef.] The flesh of a bull; coarse
beef. BULL'-BEGGAR, n. [bull and beggar.] Something terrible,
or frightful. BULL'-CALF, n. [bull and calf.] A male calf;
a stupid fellow. BULL'-DOG, n. [bull and dog.] A species of
dog of a particular form and of remarkable courage; so named probably
from being employed in baiting bulls, or from the size of the head.
bull
n 1: uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
2: a large and strong and heavyset man; "he was a bull of a
man"; "a thick-skinned bruiser ready to give as good as he
got" [syn: bull, bruiser, strapper, Samson]
3: obscene words for unacceptable behavior; "I put up with a lot
of bullshit from that jerk"; "what he said was mostly bull"
[syn: bullshit, bull, Irish bull, horseshit, shit,
crap, dogshit]
4: a serious and ludicrous blunder; "he made a bad bull of the
assignment"
5: uncomplimentary terms for a policeman [syn: bull, cop,
copper, fuzz, pig]
6: an investor with an optimistic market outlook; an investor
who expects prices to rise and so buys now for resale later
[ant: bear]
7: (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Taurus
[syn: Taurus, Bull]
8: the second sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from
about April 20 to May 20 [syn: Taurus, Taurus the Bull,
Bull]
9: the center of a target [syn: bull's eye, bull]
10: a formal proclamation issued by the pope (usually written in
antiquated characters and sealed with a leaden bulla) [syn:
bull, papal bull]
11: mature male of various mammals of which the female is called
`cow'; e.g. whales or elephants or especially cattle
v 1: push or force; "He bulled through his demands" [syn:
bull, bull through]
2: try to raise the price of stocks through speculative buying
3: speak insincerely or without regard for facts or truths; "The
politician was not well prepared for the debate and faked it"
[syn: talk through one's hat, bullshit, bull, fake]
4: advance in price; "stocks were bulling"
bull I. nounEtymology: Middle English bule, from Old English bula;
akin to Old Norse boli bull Date: before 12th century 1.a. a male bovine; especially an adult uncastrated male
domestic bovine b. a usually adult male of various large animals
(as elephants, whales, or seals)
2. one who buys securities or commodities in expectation of a price
rise or who acts to effect such a rise — compare bear3. one
that resembles a bull (as in brawny physique) 4.bulldog5.slangpolice officer, detective6.capitalizedTaurusII. adjectiveDate: 13th century 1.a. of or relating to a bull b.male <a bull
calf> c. suggestive of a bull
2. large of its kind <a bull lathe>
III. verbDate: 1884 intransitive verb
to advance forcefully transitive verb1. to act on with violence 2.force
<bulled his way through the crowd>
IV. nounEtymology: Middle English bulle,
from Medieval Latin bulla, from Latin, bubble, amulet Date:
14th century 1. a solemn papal letter sealed with a bulla or with
a red-ink imprint of the device on the bulla 2.edict, decreeV. verbDate: 1609 transitive verbslang to fool especially by fast boastful talk intransitive
verbslang to engage in idle and boastful talk VI. nounEtymology: perhaps from obsolete bull to mock Date:
1640 1. a grotesque blunder in language 2.slang
empty boastful talk 3.slangnonsense 2
VII. abbreviation bulletin
bull 1. n., adj., & v. --n. 1 a an uncastrated male bovine animal. b a male of the whale, elephant, and other large animals. 2 (the Bull) the zodiacal sign or constellation
Taurus. 3 Brit. the bull's-eye of a target. 4 Stock Exch. a person who buys shares hoping to sell them at a higher price later (cf. BEAR(2)). --adj. like that of a bull (bull
neck). --v. 1 tr. & intr. act or treat violently. 2 Stock Exch. a intr. speculate for a rise. b tr. raise price of (stocks, etc.). Phrases and idioms: bull ant Austral. =
bulldog ant. bull at a gate a hasty or rash person. bull-fiddle US colloq. a double-bass. bull-horn a megaphone. bull in a china shop a reckless or clumsy person. bull market a market with shares
rising in price. bull-nose (or -nosed) with rounded end. bull session US an informal group discussion. bull's-eye 1 the centre of a target. 2 a large hard peppermint-flavoured sweet. 3 a
hemisphere or thick disc of glass in a ship's deck or side to admit light. 4 a small circular window. 5 a a hemispherical lens. b a lantern fitted with this. 6 a boss of glass at the centre
of a blown glass sheet. bull-terrier 1 a short-haired dog of a breed that is a cross between a bulldog and a terrier. 2 this breed. take the bull by the horns face danger or challenge
boldly. Derivatives: bullish adj. Etymology: ME f. ON boli = MLG, MDu bulle 2. n. a papal edict. Etymology: ME f. OF bulle f. L bulla rounded object, in
med.L 'seal' 3. n. 1 (also Irish bull) an expression containing a contradiction in terms or implying ludicrous inconsistency. 2 sl. a unnecessary routine tasks or discipline. b
nonsense. c trivial or insincere talk or writing. d US a bad blunder (cf. BULLSHIT). Etymology: 17th c.: orig. unkn.
bull
(bulls)
1. A bull is a male animal of the cow family.
N-COUNT
2. Some other male animals, including elephants and whales, are called bulls.
...a massive bull elephant with huge tusks.N-COUNT
3. On the stock market, bulls are people who buy shares in expectation of a price rise, in
order to make a profit by selling the shares again after a short time. Compare bear. (BUSINESS)
N-COUNT
4. If you say that something is bull or a load of bull, you mean that it is
complete nonsense or absolutely untrue. (INFORMAL)
I think it's a load of bull...N-UNCOUNT
5.
see alsocock-and-bull story, pit bull terrier
6. If you take the bull by the horns, you do something that you feel you ought to do
even though it is difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant.
Now is the time for the Chancellor to take the bull by the horns and announce a two per
cent cut in interest rates.PHRASE: V inflects
7.
like a red rag to a bull: seerag
BULL
A blunder; from one Obadiah Bull, a blundering
lawyer of London, who lived in the reign of Henery VII.
by a bull is now always meant a blunder made by an Irishman.
A bull was also the name of false hair formerly
much worn by women. To look like bull beef, or as bluff
as bull beef; to look fierce or surly. Town bull, a great
whore-master.
BULL
An Exchange Alley term for one who buys stock
on speculation for time, i.e. agrees with the seller, called
a Bear, to take a certain sum of stock at a future day, at a
stated price: if at that day stock fetches more than the
price agreed on, he receives the difference; if it falls or is
cheaper, he either pays it, or becomes a lame duck, and
waddles out of the Alley. See LAME DUCK and BEAR.
Bull \Bull\, v. 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, n., 4.
Bull \Bull\, n. [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.
Bull \Bull\, a.
Of or pertaining to a bull; resembling a bull; male; large;
fierce.
Bull bat (Zo["o]l.), 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 (Zo["o]l.), the chub mackerel.
Bull pump (Mining), a direct single-acting pumping engine,
in which the steam cylinder is placed above the pump.
Bull snake (Zo["o]l.), 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 \Bull\, n. [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. (Zo["o]l.) The male of any species of cattle
({Bovid[ae]}); 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) 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
n.1. Male (usually of bovine animals).
2. Edict (issued by the Pope), rescript.
3. Blunder (involving a contradiction), gross mistake.
4.(Astron.) Taurus.
5. Speculator on a rise, stimulator of the stock-market.
BULL
John, a fine, fat, American-beef fed individual who
inhabits a suffragette-infested island somewhere in the North
Atlantic. Born several hundred years ago and is beginning to
show his age. Is fond of the sea and is said to have a fine
fleet. This has had off years, notably 1812. B. has had
trouble with a son who wishes to leave the paternal protection.
Is fearless except when faced by a hunger strike, the Pankhurst
family, and thoughts of Germany. Patronizes a costly social
organization known as the Royal Family, or a reception
committee for American heiresstocracy, which also dedicates
buildings, poses for stamps, post-cards, motion pictures and
raises princesses of Wales for magazine articles and crowning
purposes. B. is a monitor of English style; wears a monocle,
spats, 'i 'at, cane, pipe, awful accent, and never makes his
appearance without a cawld bawth. He detests the word
"egotism." Is a celebrated humorist, seeing through all jokes
but himself. Ambition: 'Ome sweet 'Ome. Recreation: Tea,
Week Ends. Address: Hingland. Clubs: Policemen's, Golf,
Jockey, and Suffrage. Epitaph: See Emperor William Again.
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