bulla

See also: Bulla, buļļa, bülla, and ɓulla

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʊlə/, [ˈbʊ.ɫə]

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin bulla (“bubble”). Doublet of bill and bull (“papal bull; bubble”).

Noun

bulla (plural bullae)

1. (biology, medicine) A blister, vesicle, or other thin-walled cavity or lesion, as:
   1. (biology, medicine) (usually and especially) Such a blister that is more than 5 mm in diameter.

      Coordinate terms: vesicle, vesicula

2. (archaeology) A clay envelope or hollow ball, typically with seal impressions or writing on its outside indicating its contents.
3. (historical) In ancient Rome, a kind of amulet or boss.
4. (Catholicism, historical) A handwritten document from the papal chancellery.
5. (biology) Any of several hollow structures as features of bones.

   auditory bulla;   ethmoid bulla

   1. The tympanic part of a temporal bone (having a bubble-like appearance).

Derived terms

• bullectomy

Translations

blister, vesicle or lesion

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大泡 (zh) (dàpào)

• Dutch: blaar (nl) m, blein (nl) f (Belgium), bulla (nl) f
• Finnish: vesikello (fi), vesirakkula (fi)

See also

• bullous

Etymology 2

Noun

bulla (countable and uncountable, plural bullas)

1. A rich Jamaican cake made with molasses and spiced with ginger and nutmeg.

Further reading

• bulla on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Darkinjung

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʊllɐ/, /pʊllɐ/

Numeral

bulla

1. two

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse *bulla, from Proto-Germanic *bullōną.

Verb

bulla (third person singular past indicative bullaði, third person plural past indicative bullaðu, supine bullað)

1. to bubble, gush up
2. to speak unintelligibly
3. to gabble, babble, talk nonsense, twaddle
4. to simmer

Conjugation

Conjugation of bulla (group v-30)

infinitive	bulla
supine	bullað
	present	past
first singular	bulli	bullaði
second singular	bullar	bullaði
third singular	bullar	bullaði
plural	bulla	bullaðu
participle (a6)1	bullandi	bullaður
	imperative
singular	bulla!
plural	bullið!

¹Only the past participle being declined.

Further reading

• "bulla" at Sprotin.fo

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin bulla.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbulːɑ/, [ˈbulːɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ulːɑ
• Syllabification^(key): bul‧la
• Hyphenation^(key): bul‧la

Noun

bulla

1. bull (papal bull)

Declension

Inflection of bulla (Kotus type 10/koira, no gradation)
nominative		bulla	bullat
genitive		bullan	bullien
partitive		bullaa	bullia
illative		bullaan	bulliin
		singular	plural
nominative		bulla	bullat
accusative	nom.	bulla	bullat
	gen.	bullan
genitive		bullan	bullien bullain rare
partitive		bullaa	bullia
inessive		bullassa	bullissa
elative		bullasta	bullista
illative		bullaan	bulliin
adessive		bullalla	bullilla
ablative		bullalta	bullilta
allative		bullalle	bullille
essive		bullana	bullina
translative		bullaksi	bulliksi
abessive		bullatta	bullitta
instructive		—	bullin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of bulla (Kotus type 10/koira, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative bullani bullani accusative nom. bullani bullani gen. bullani genitive bullani bullieni bullaini rare partitive bullaani bulliani inessive bullassani bullissani elative bullastani bullistani illative bullaani bulliini adessive bullallani bullillani ablative bullaltani bulliltani allative bullalleni bullilleni essive bullanani bullinani translative bullakseni bullikseni abessive bullattani bullittani instructive — — comitative — bullineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative bullasi bullasi accusative nom. bullasi bullasi gen. bullasi genitive bullasi bulliesi bullaisi rare partitive bullaasi bulliasi inessive bullassasi bullissasi elative bullastasi bullistasi illative bullaasi bulliisi adessive bullallasi bullillasi ablative bullaltasi bulliltasi allative bullallesi bullillesi essive bullanasi bullinasi translative bullaksesi bulliksesi abessive bullattasi bullittasi instructive — — comitative — bullinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative bullamme bullamme accusative nom. bullamme bullamme gen. bullamme genitive bullamme bulliemme bullaimme rare partitive bullaamme bulliamme inessive bullassamme bullissamme elative bullastamme bullistamme illative bullaamme bulliimme adessive bullallamme bullillamme ablative bullaltamme bulliltamme allative bullallemme bullillemme essive bullanamme bullinamme translative bullaksemme bulliksemme abessive bullattamme bullittamme instructive — — comitative — bullinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative bullanne bullanne accusative nom. bullanne bullanne gen. bullanne genitive bullanne bullienne bullainne rare partitive bullaanne bullianne inessive bullassanne bullissanne elative bullastanne bullistanne illative bullaanne bulliinne adessive bullallanne bullillanne ablative bullaltanne bulliltanne allative bullallenne bullillenne essive bullananne bullinanne translative bullaksenne bulliksenne abessive bullattanne bullittanne instructive — — comitative — bullinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative bullansa bullansa accusative nom. bullansa bullansa gen. bullansa genitive bullansa bulliensa bullainsa rare partitive bullaansa bulliaan bulliansa inessive bullassaan bullassansa bullissaan bullissansa elative bullastaan bullastansa bullistaan bullistansa illative bullaansa bulliinsa adessive bullallaan bullallansa bullillaan bullillansa ablative bullaltaan bullaltansa bulliltaan bulliltansa allative bullalleen bullallensa bullilleen bullillensa essive bullanaan bullanansa bullinaan bullinansa translative bullakseen bullaksensa bullikseen bulliksensa abessive bullattaan bullattansa bullittaan bullittansa instructive — — comitative — bullineen bullinensa

Further reading

• “bulla”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /by.la/

Verb

bulla

1. third-person singular past historic of buller

Galician

Verb

bulla

1. inflection of bullar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʏtla/
• Rhymes: -ʏtla

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

bulla (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative bullaði, supine bullað)

1. (intransitive) to talk nonsense

   Synonyms: rugla, þvæla, þvaðra

2. (intransitive) to boil, to bubble up

   Synonym: sjóða

Conjugation

bulla – active voice (germynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að bulla
supine sagnbót		bullað
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		bullandi
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	bulla	bullaði		bulli	bullaði
	þú	bullar	bullaðir		bullir	bullaðir
	hann, hún, það	bullar	bullaði		bulli	bullaði
plural	við	bullum	bulluðum		bullum	bulluðum
	þið	bullið	bulluðuð		bullið	bulluðuð
	þeir, þær, þau	bulla	bulluðu		bulli	bulluðu
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	bulla (þú), bullaðu
plural	þið	bullið (þið), bulliði1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

bullast – mediopassive voice (miðmynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að bullast
supine sagnbót		bullast
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		bullandist (rare; see appendix)
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	bullast	bullaðist		bullist	bullaðist
	þú	bullast	bullaðist		bullist	bullaðist
	hann, hún, það	bullast	bullaðist		bullist	bullaðist
plural	við	bullumst	bulluðumst		bullumst	bulluðumst
	þið	bullist	bulluðust		bullist	bulluðust
	þeir, þær, þau	bullast	bulluðust		bullist	bulluðust
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	bullast (þú), bullastu
plural	þið	bullist (þið), bullisti1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

bullaður — past participle (lýsingarháttur þátíðar)

strong declension (sterk beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	bullaður	bulluð	bullað	bullaðir	bullaðar	bulluð
accusative (þolfall)	bullaðan	bullaða	bullað	bullaða	bullaðar	bulluð
dative (þágufall)	bulluðum	bullaðri	bulluðu	bulluðum	bulluðum	bulluðum
genitive (eignarfall)	bullaðs	bullaðrar	bullaðs	bullaðra	bullaðra	bullaðra
weak declension (veik beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	bullaði	bullaða	bullaða	bulluðu	bulluðu	bulluðu
accusative (þolfall)	bullaða	bulluðu	bullaða	bulluðu	bulluðu	bulluðu
dative (þágufall)	bullaða	bulluðu	bullaða	bulluðu	bulluðu	bulluðu
genitive (eignarfall)	bullaða	bulluðu	bullaða	bulluðu	bulluðu	bulluðu

Derived terms

• bullandi

Related terms

• bull

Etymology 2

Noun

bulla f (genitive singular bullu, nominative plural bullur)

1. piston

   Synonym: stimpill

Declension

Declension of bulla (feminine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bulla	bullan	bullur	bullurnar
accusative	bullu	bulluna	bullur	bullurnar
dative	bullu	bullunni	bullum	bullunum
genitive	bullu	bullunnar	bullna, bulla	bullnanna, bullanna

Derived terms

• bulludæla (“piston pump”)
• bulluhaus (“piston head”)
• bulluhiti (“piston operating temperature”)
• bulluhreyfill (“piston engine”)
• bulluhringur (“piston ring”)
• bulluhöfuð (“piston crown”)
• bullukollur (“piston head”)
• bulluslag (“piston stroke”)
• bullustrokkur (“piston barrel”)
• bullustýring (“piston guide”)
• bullustöng (“piston rod”)
• bulluvölur (“piston pin”)
• bulluþétti (“piston gasket, piston packing, piston seal”)
• bulluþjappa (“piston compressor”)
• vélbulluvölur (“piston pin”)

Etymology 3

Noun

bulla f (genitive singular bullu, nominative plural bullur)

1. bully

   Synonym: svoli

Declension

Declension of bulla (feminine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bulla	bullan	bullur	bullurnar
accusative	bullu	bulluna	bullur	bullurnar
dative	bullu	bullunni	bullum	bullunum
genitive	bullu	bullunnar	bullna, bulla	bullnanna, bullanna

Irish

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bulla m (genitive singular bulla, nominative plural bullaí)

1. (nautical) buoy
2. (medicine) bulla

Derived terms

• bulla cloig (“bell-buoy”)
• bulla eangaí (“float (of net)”)
• bulla feistithe (“mooring-buoy”)
• rópa bulla (“buoy-rope”)

Etymology 2

From Old Irish bulla, borrowed from Latin bulla.

Noun

bulla m (genitive singular bulla, nominative plural bullaí)

1. (Christianity) bull

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bulla m (genitive singular bulla, nominative plural bullaí)

1. (finance) bull

Etymology 4

Noun

bulla m (genitive singular bulla, nominative plural bullaí)

1. alternative form of bolla (“bowl”)

Declension

Declension of bulla (fourth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative bulla bullaí vocative a bhulla a bhullaí genitive bulla bullaí dative bulla bullaí forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an bulla na bullaí genitive an bhulla na mbullaí dative leis an mbulla don bhulla leis na bullaí

Mutation

Mutated forms of bulla

radical	lenition	eclipsis
bulla	bhulla	mbulla

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “bulla”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 bulla”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959), “bulla”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “bulla”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2026

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain; possibly from Gaulish [Term?], from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“swelling”), same source as Middle Dutch puyl (“bag”) and Lithuanian bule (“buttocks”), or from *bʰel- (“to blow, to swell up”). Ultimately onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• bulla:
  • (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈbʊl.la]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈbul.la]
• bullā:
  • (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈbʊl.laː]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈbul.la]

Noun

bulla f (genitive bullae); first declension

1. a bubble
2. a swollen or bubble-shaped object, particularly:
   1. a knob, boss, or stud, as on doors, shields, etc.
   2. (historical) a bulla: a protective (usually golden) amulet worn by upper-class Roman children
   4. (Medieval Latin, historical) a round metallic seal certifying official medieval documents, particularly the golden imperial seal and the leaden papal one.
3. (Medieval Latin) a papal bull or other official document sealed with a bulla

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	bulla	bullae
genitive	bullae	bullārum
dative	bullae	bullīs
accusative	bullam	bullās
ablative	bullā	bullīs
vocative	bulla	bullae

Derived terms

• bullā dignus
• bullātus
• bullescō
• bulliō
• bullō
• bullula

Descendants

• Eastern Romance:
  • Romanian: bulă
• Italo-Dalmatian:
  • Istriot: bòla
  • Italian: bolla
  • Sicilian: buḍḍa
• Western Romance:
  • Rhaeto-Romance:
    • Friulian: bole
  • Venetan: bóła
  • Gallo-Romance:
    • Old French: bole (“knob, ball; *bowl”)
      • Middle French: boule
        • French: boule
  • West Iberian:
    • Old Galician-Portuguese:
      • Galician: bola
      • Portuguese: bola, bolha
    • Old Spanish:
      • Spanish: bula
• Borrowings:
  • → Catalan: butlla
  • → English: bull, bulla
  • → Galician: bula
  • → Koine Greek: βούλλᾰ (boúllă), βοῦλλᾰ (boûllă)
  • → Old Irish: bulla
    • Irish: bulla
  • → Polish: bulla
  • → Portuguese: bula
  • → Old French: bulle, boille, boule, boulle, burle, bille
    • Middle French: bulle
      • French: bulle
    • → Middle English: bulle
      • English: bull
      • Scots: bull, bul
    • → Middle English: bille
      • English: bill
  • ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *bolla (merger with Frankish *bollā; see there for more descendants)

References

• “bulla”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “bulla”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "bulla", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “bulla”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “bulla”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “bulla”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Phuthi

Verb

-búĺla

1. to be circumcised

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bew-der.?

Latin *bʰel-der.?

Latin bullalbor.

Polish bulla

Learned borrowing from Latin bulla.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbul.la/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ulla
• Syllabification: bul‧la

Noun

bulla f

1. (Roman Catholicism) bull (papal bull; a document from the papal chancellery)

Declension

Declension of bulla

	singular	plural
nominative	bulla	bulle
genitive	bulli	bulli
dative	bulli	bullom
accusative	bullę	bulle
instrumental	bullą	bullami
locative	bulli	bullach
vocative	bullo	bulle

Further reading

• “bulla”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “bulla”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)
• bulla in PWN's encyclopedia

Spanish

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈbuʝa/ [ˈbu.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): /ˈbuʝa/ [ˈbu.ʝa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• IPA^(key): /ˈbuʎa/ [ˈbu.ʎa] (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /ˈbuʃa/ [ˈbu.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /ˈbuʒa/ [ˈbu.ʒa] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

 

• Rhymes: -uʝa

• Rhymes: -uʝa (Equatorial Guinea, most of Latin America and Spain)
• Rhymes: -uʎa (Andes Mountains, rustic northern Spain, Paraguay, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -uʃa (Buenos Aires and environs)
• Rhymes: -uʒa (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Syllabification: bu‧lla

Etymology 1

Deverbal from bullir, from Latin bullīre (“to bubble, boil”), from bulla (“bubble”).

Noun

bulla f (plural bullas)

1. rowdiness, racket, ruckus, uproar
2. crowd, throng, bustle (a dense gathering of people)
3. (colloquial, Andalusia) hurry, rush, haste

   No me metas bulla, que todavía tenemos tiempo.

   Don't rush me, we still have time.

Derived terms

• bullanga
• embullar
• meter bulla
• tener bulla

Descendants

• → Portuguese: bulha

Etymology 2

Verb

bulla

1. inflection of bullir:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “bulla”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025