bull

See also: Bull and Bull.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• 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”), Thracian βόλινθος (vólinthos, “wild bull”), Albanian buall (“buffalo”) or related bolle (“testicles”), Ancient Greek φαλλός (phallós, “penis”)).

Noun

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

bull (countable and uncountable, 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. Any adult male bovine.
4. An adult male of certain large mammals, such as whales, elephants and seals.
5. A large, strong man.
6. (finance) An investor who buys (commodities or securities) in anticipation of a rise in prices.
7. (slang) A policeman.
   • 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart; Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, OCLC 20230794, page 01:

     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.

   1. (US) Specifically, a policeman employed in a railroad yard.
8. (Britain, historical, obsolete slang) A crown coin; its value, 5 shillings.
   • 1859, J.C. Hotten, A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words

     Half-a-crown is known as an alderman, half a bull, half a tusheroon, and a madza caroon; whilst a crown piece, or five shillings, may be called either a bull, or a caroon, or a cartwheel, or a coachwheel, or a thick-un, or a tusheroon.

9. (Britain) Clipping of bullseye.
   1. (military, firearms) The central portion of a target, inside the inner and magpie.
10. (Philadelphia, slang) A man.
11. (uncountable, informal, euphemistic, slang) Clipping of bullshit..
12. A man who has sex with another man's wife or girlfriend with the consent of both.
    • 2018 ‘Stag’ men love watching other guys have sex with their wives… but it’s not cuckolding

      The Vixen, often known as ‘Hotwife’, has sex with the encouragement of her husband or boyfriend with the Bull (that’s the guy who is servicing her). Another scenario is that the Vixen has sex with a Bull outside of the couple’s shared abode. Then she comes home and recounts all the details in a blow-by-blow description to turn the Stag on.

13. (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 Thesaurus:police officer

Antonyms

• (finance: investor who sells in anticipation of a fall in prices): bear

Coordinate terms

• cow, ox, calf, steer

Derived terms

• Banbury story of a cock and a bull

Translations

uncastrated adult male bovine

• Akan: nantwinini m
• Akkadian: 𒋗𒌑𒊒 m (šūru)
• Amharic: በሬ m (bäre)
• Arabic: ثَوْر‎ m (ṯawr)

  Egyptian Arabic: تور‎ m (tōr)

• Aramaic: תורא‎ m (tawrā’)
• Armenian: ցուլ (hy) (cʿul)
• Asturian: toru m, bue (ast) m
• Azerbaijani: öküz (az), buğa (az)
• Bashkir: үгеҙ (ügeð)
• Basque: zezen (eu)
• Belarusian: бык m (byk)
• Bengali: ষণ্ড (bn) (ṣôṇḍ)
• Bole: bijimi
• Breton: tarv (br) m
• Bulgarian: бик (bg) m (bik)
• Burmese: နွားထီး (my) (nwa:hti:)
• Catalan: toro (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 公牛 (zh) (gōngniú), 特 (zh) (tè)

• Cornish: tarow m
• Czech: býk (cs) m
• Danish: tyr (da) m, okse (da) c
• Dutch: bul (nl) m, stier (nl) m
• Eblaite: 𒄞𒌉 (šulum)
• Esperanto: virbovo, taŭro, boviĉo (eo)
• Estonian: sõnn (et)
• Ewe: nyitsu
• Faroese: tarvur m
• Finnish: sonni (fi)
• French: taureau (fr) m
• Galician: touro (gl) m, almallo (gl) m, boi (gl) m
• Ge'ez: ሶር (sor)
• Georgian: ხარი (xari)
• German: Bulle (de) m, Stier (de) m, Bummal (Bavarian)
• Greek: ταύρος (el) m (távros)

  Ancient: ταῦρος m (taûros)

• Hausa: sa (ha)
• Hebrew: שור‎ (he) m (šor), פר‎ (he) m (par)
• Hindi: सांड (hi) m (sāṇḍ), बैल (hi) m (bail)
• Hungarian: bika (hu)
• Icelandic: naut (is) n
• Ido: bovulo (io), tauro (io)
• Indonesian: sapi (id) m, banteng (id)
• Interlingua: tauro
• Irish: tarbh (ga) m

  Old Irish: tarb m

• Italian: toro (it) m
• Japanese: 雄牛 (ja) (おうし, oushi), 牡牛 (ja) (おうし, oushi)
• Khmer: គោបា (koo baa)
• Korean: 황소 (ko) (hwangso)
• Kurdish: ga (ku)

  Central Kurdish: گا‎ (ga)

  Northern Kurdish: ga (ku)

  Southern Kurdish: گا‎ (ga)

• Latin: taurus (la) m, bōs (la) m
• Latvian: bullis m
• Lithuanian: jautis (lt) m
• Low German: Bull m
• Lusitanian: taurom
• Macedonian: бик m (bik)
• Malay: lembu jantan

• Maltese: gendus m, barri m
• Manx: tarroo m
• Maore Comorian: kondzo class 5/6
• Maori: pūru
• Marathi: बैल m (bail)
• Mi'kmaq: latto'law anim, natto'law anim, matto'law anim
• Mongolian: бух (mn) (buh)
• Navajo: dóola
• Neapolitan: toro m
• Ngazidja Comorian: mɓe-ɗume class 9/10
• North Frisian: Bol ? (Sylt), Stiir ? (Sylt)
• Norwegian: okse (no) m
• Occitan: taur (oc) m
• Old Church Slavonic: бꙑкъ m (bykŭ), тоуръ m (turŭ)
• Old English: fearr m
• Ottoman Turkish: بوغا‎ (boğa)
• Persian: گاو نر‎ (fa) (gâv-e nar)
• Phoenician: 𐤀𐤋𐤐‎ (ʾlp)
• Polish: byk (pl) m
• Portuguese: touro (pt) m, toiro (pt) m
• Romanian: taur (ro) m
• Russian: бык (ru) m (byk)
• Sardinian: trau m
• Scottish Gaelic: tarbh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: би̏к m

  Roman: bȉk (sh) m

• Seri: tooro, ziix cooha ctam
• Sicilian: tàuru (scn) m, tàvuru (scn) m
• Slovak: býk (sk) m
• Slovene: bik (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: byk m

• Spanish: toro (es) m
• Svan: ჴა̈ნ (qän)
• Swahili: fahali (sw) class 5/6
• Swedish: tjur (sv) c
• Tagalog: toro (tl)
• Tamil: please add this translation if you can
• Taos: tùlu’úna
• Thai: พฤษภ (th) (prʉ́-sòp)
• Tibetan: གླང (glang)
• Tigre: ሶር (sor)
• Tigrinya: ሶር ? (sor)
• Tocharian B: kauᵤrṣe ?
• Tok Pisin: bulmakau man, bulmakau
• Tswana: poo class 9/10
• Turkish: boğa (tr)
• Ugaritic: 𐎘𐎗 (ṯr)
• Ukrainian: бик (uk) m (byk), буга́й (uk) m (buháj)
• Umbrian: 𐌁𐌖𐌌 (bum)
• Urdu: سانڈ‎ m (sāṇḍ), بیل‎ m (bail)
• Uyghur: بۇقا‎ (ug) (buqa)
• Uzbek: buqa (uz)
• Venetian: toro m
• Vietnamese: bò đực (vi)
• Volapük: tor (vo), hibub (vo), (older word, obsolete) xoil
• Walloon: gayet (wa) m, torea (wa) m
• Welsh: tarw (cy) m
• West Frisian: bolle m
• Westrobothnian: oks m, åoks m
• Wolof: yëkk wi (wo)
• Yiddish: ביק‎ m (bik), בוהײַ‎ m (buhay)
• Zazaki: ga, go, boxe

adult male animal

• Albanian: dem (sq) m
• Azerbaijani: öküz (az)
• Classical Syriac: ܬܘܪܐ‎ m (tawrā’)
• Danish: han (da) c
• Dutch: stier (nl) m
• Esperanto: virbovo, taŭro
• Finnish: uros (fi), koiras (fi), sonni (fi)
• French: mâle (fr) m
• Galician: touro (gl) m
• German: Bulle (de) m, Stier (de) m, Bummal ? (Bavarian)
• Greek: βόδι (el) n (vódi) (male ruminant)
• Interlingua: masculo
• Irish: tarbh (ga) m

• Italian: maschio (it) m
• Korean: 수컷 (ko) (sukeot)
• Latin: bōs (la) m
• Maori: puuru
• Norwegian: okse (no) m
• Portuguese: macho (pt) m
• Russian: саме́ц (ru) m (saméc)
• Swedish: hane (sv) c, tjur (sv) c
• Telugu: ఎద్దు (te) (eddu)
• Tswana: poo
• Turkish: boğa (tr), öküz (tr)
• Wolof: yëkk wi (wo)

large, strong man

• Armenian: տավար (hy) (tavar)
• Danish: tyr (da) m
• Dutch: beer (nl) m, kolos (nl) m
• Finnish: karhu (fi)
• German: Bulle (de) m

• Greek: ταύρος (el) m (távros) (strong man), βόδι (el) n (vódi) (large man), βούβαλος (el) m (voúvalos) (fat man)
• Macedonian: бик m (bik), збиток m (zbitok), стропјак m (stropjak)
• Norwegian: okse (no) m
• Portuguese: brutamontes m
• Russian: бык (ru) m (byk), буга́й (ru) m (bugáj), быча́ра (ru) m (byčára)

finance: investor who buys in anticipation of a rise in prices

• Danish: haussespekulant ?, haussist ?
• Finnish: härkä (fi)
• German: Bulle (de) m
• Irish: bulla m

• Italian: toro (it) m, rialzista (it) m
• Macedonian: берзански шпекула́нт m (berzanski špekulánt)
• Russian: бык (ru) m (byk)
• Swedish: haussespekulant c

slang: policeman

• Bulgarian: ченге (bg) n (čenge)
• Danish: strisser ?
• Dutch: flik (nl) m or f
• Finnish: sika (fi)
• French: vaches (fr) f pl (cows), bœufs (fr) m pl (oxen) (Canada), chiens (fr) m pl (dogs) (Canada), poulet (fr) m (chicken), cognes (fr) m pl (the beat)
• German: Bulle (de) m, Bullette f (rare)

• Greek: μπάτσος (el) n (bátsos) (slap), γουρούνι (el) n (gouroúni) (pig), γουρουνάκι (el) n (gourounáki) (piggy)
• Portuguese: tira (pt) m or f
• Russian: мент (ru) m (ment), ляга́вый (ru) m (ljagávyj), му́сор (ru) m (músor)
• Swedish: snut (sv) c
• Turkish: aynasız (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Breton: (1) ^{(please verify)} tarv (br) m + specific mammal, (2) ^{(please verify)} tarv (br) m, ^{(please verify)} tirvi (br) pl
• Galician: ^{(please verify)} touro (gl)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} policiero m, ^{(please verify)} policiera f

• Lithuanian: (2-4) ^{(please verify)} bulius m
• Romanian: (2,4) ^{(please verify)} taur (ro) m, (3) ^{(please verify)} macho m

Adjective

bull (not comparable)

1. Large and strong, like a bull.

• Synonyms: beefy, hunky, robust
• Antonyms: feeble, puny, weak

1. (of large mammals) adult male

   a bull elephant

   Synonym: male

   Antonym: female

2. (finance) Of a market in which prices are rising (compare bear)

   Antonym: bear

3. stupid

   Synonym: stupid

Translations

large and strong

• Danish: stor og stærk
• German: Bullen-, bullen-

• Interlingua: grosse
• Portuguese: grande (pt) m

male

• Dutch: stieren-, mannetjes-
• Finnish: uros- (fi)
• French: mâle (fr)
• German: -bulle

• Interlingua: mascule
• Italian: maschio (it)
• Portuguese: macho (pt) m

of a market in which prices are rising

• Swedish: hausse (sv) c

Etymology 2

Shortened from bullshit

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

force oneself

• Danish: presse
• Interlingua: fortiar

• Portuguese: forçar (pt)

lie

• Danish: ligge (da)
• Spanish: mamar (es) (slang)

polish boots to a high shine

• Danish: pudse
• Macedonian: светнува (svetnuva), гланца (glanca)

• Swedish: putsa (sv), finputsa (sv)

Derived terms

Terms derived from adj., noun, or verb bull (etymology 1)

• bulldog
• bulldozer
• bulldust
• bull fiddle
• bullfrog
• bullhorn

• bull in a china shop
• bullseye
• bullshit
• bull wheel
• like a bull at a gate
• shoot the bull
• take the bull by the horns

Etymology 3

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

Noun

bull (plural bulls)

1. A papal bull, an official document or edict from the Pope.
   • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Pardoners Prologue”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], OCLC 230972125; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: Printed by [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, OCLC 932884868, folio lxx, recto, column 2:

     And who ſo fyndeth hym out of ſuche blame / Commeth up and offre in goddes name / And I assoyle hym by the auctorite / Such as by bulle was graunted to me.

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

2. A seal affixed to a document, especially a document from the Pope.

Translations

document

• Arabic: مَرْسُوم‎ (ar) m (marsūm)
• Bulgarian: була (bg) f (bula)
• Catalan: butlla (ca) f
• Czech: bula (cs) f
• Dutch: bul (nl) m
• Finnish: bulla (fi)
• French: bulle (fr) f
• Friulian: bole f
• German: Bulle (de) f
• Hungarian: bulla (hu)
• Ido: bul-letro

• Interlingua: bulla
• Irish: bulla m
• Italian: bolla (it)
• Korean: 불라 (bulla)
• Polish: bulla (pl) f
• Portuguese: bula (pt) f
• Russian: бу́лла (ru) f (búlla)
• Slovene: bula f
• Spanish: bula (es)
• Swedish: bulla (sv) c

seal

• Catalan: butlla (ca) f, segell (ca) m
• Danish: segl (da) n
• Dutch: zegel (nl) n
• Finnish: sinetti (fi)
• French: sceau (fr) m
• German: Bulle (de) f
• Hungarian: bulla (hu)
• Ido: bul-sigluro

• Interlingua: sigillo
• Irish: bulla m
• Italian: sigillo (it) m
• Korean: 불라 (bulla)
• Portuguese: selo (pt) m
• Swedish: sigill (sv)

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 4

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 Thesaurus:nonsense

Translations

nonsense

• Bulgarian: глупости (bg) pl (gluposti)
• Danish: sludder c, sniksnak c, nonsens (da) c
• Dutch: onzin (nl) m, klinkklare onzin m, nonsens (nl) m
• French: bêtises (fr) f pl
• Interlingua: nonsenso

• Portuguese: papo-furado m, conversa fiada f, besteira (pt) f
• Spanish: bulo (es) m
• Swedish: strunt (sv) n, snack (sv) n, nonsens (sv)

Verb

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

1. to mock, cheat

Etymology 5

Old French boule (“ball”), from Latin bulla (“round swelling”), of Gaulish origin. Doublet of bull (“papal bull”).

Noun

bull (plural bulls)

1. (16th century, obsolete) A bubble.

---

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈbuʎ/
• Homophone: vull
• Rhymes: -uʎ

Etymology 1

From bullir.

Noun

bull m (plural bulls)

1. boiling
2. effervescence

Verb

bull

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

Etymology 2

Noun

bull m (plural bulls)

1. a type of pork sausage

Further reading

• “bull” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

---

Cimbrian

Etymology

Reduced form of bóol (“well”).

Adverb

bull (comparative péssor, superlative dar péste)

1. (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 bulldozer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bul/, /byl/

Noun

bull m (plural bulls)

1. (construction) bulldozer

Synonyms

• bulldozer
• bouldozeur

---

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʏtl/
• Rhymes: -ʏtl

Noun

bull n (genitive singular bulls, no plural)

1. nonsense, gibberish

Declension

declension of bull

n-s	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	bull	bullið
accusative	bull	bullið
dative	bulli	bullinu
genitive	bulls	bullsins

Synonyms

• rugl
• vitleysa
• þvæla

Related terms

• bulla (“to talk nonsense, to boil”)

---

Westrobothnian

Etymology 1

From Old Norse bolli, from Proto-Germanic *bullô.

Noun

bull m

1. Wooden bowl, lathed vessel, big bowl.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *bullǭ.

Noun

bull f

1. Loaf.

Derived terms

• bullsjiv
• bullstommel
• rågbull