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. [ 1913 Webster ]

A fresh bull of Leo's had declared how inflexible the court of Rome was in the point of abuses. Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- See Blunder. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bull bat (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), the chub mackerel. --
Bull pump (Mining), a direct single-acting pumping engine, in which the steam cylinder is placed above the pump. --
Bull snake (Zool.), 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The wild bull of the Old Testament is thought to be the oryx, a large species of antelope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who, or that which, resembles a bull in character or action. Ps. xxii. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

At last from Aries rolls the bounteous sun,
And the bright Bull receives him. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. a ludicrously false statement; nonsense. Also used as an expletive. [ vulgar ]
Syn. -- bullshit, Irish bull, horseshit, shit, crap, crapola, bunk, bunkum, buncombe, guff, nonsense, rot, tommyrot, balderdash, hogwash, dogshit. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Anat.) The ovoid prominence below the opening of the ear in the skulls of many animals; as, the tympanic or auditory bulla. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A leaden seal for a document; esp. the round leaden seal attached to the papal bulls, which has on one side a representation of St. Peter and St. Paul, and on the other the name of the pope who uses it. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Zool.) A genus of marine shells. See Bubble shell. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bullantic letters, Gothic letters used in papal bulls. [ 1913 Webster ]

And certain salt fats or bullaries. Bills in Chancery. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bullate leaf (Bot.), a leaf, the membranous part of which rises between the veins puckered elevations convex on one side and concave on the other. [ 1913 Webster ]

And being an ill-looked fellow, he has a pension from the church wardens for being bullbeggar to all the forward children in the parish. Mountfort (1691). [ 1913 Webster ]

Bulldog bat (Zo'94l.), a bat of the genus Nyctinomus; -- so called from the shape of its face. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Metal.) A refractory material used as a furnace lining, obtained by calcining the cinder or slag from the puddling furnace of a rolling mill. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

2. A missile, usually of lead, and round or elongated in form, to be discharged from a rifle, musket, pistol, or other small firearm. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A cannon ball. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A ship before Greenwich . . . shot off her ordnance, one piece being charged with a bullet of stone. Stow. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The fetlock of a horse. [ See Illust. under Horse. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Bullet tree. See Bully tree. --
Bullet wood, the wood of the bullet tree. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any public notice or announcement, especially of news recently received. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A periodical publication, especially one containing the proceeding of a society. [ 1913 Webster ]

bulletin board, a board on which announcements are put, particularly at newsrooms, newspaper offices, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. designed so as to be resistant to abuse or misuse and incapable of malfunction under normal use; as, a bulletproof computer program. [ PJC ]

3. so well thought out as to be resistant to criticism or certain to succeed; as, a bulletproof plan. [ PJC ]

☞ As a cage bird it is highly valued for its remarkable power of learning to whistle correctly various musical airs. [ 1913 Webster ]

Crimson-fronted bullfinch. (Zool.) See Burion. --
Pine bullfinch, the pine finch. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) (a) The black-bellied plover (Squatarola helvetica); -- called also beetlehead. (b) The golden plover. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A stupid fellow; a lubber. [ Colloq. ] Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Zool.) A small black water insect. E. Phillips. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bullhead whiting (Zool.), the kingfish of Florida (Menticirrus alburnus). [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Properly, the precious metals are called bullion, when smelted and not perfectly refined, or when refined, but in bars, ingots or in any form uncoined, as in plate. The word is often often used to denote gold and silver, both coined and uncoined, when reckoned by weight and in mass, including especially foreign, or uncurrent, coin. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Base or uncurrent coin. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And those which eld's strict doom did disallow,
And damm for bullion, go for current now. Sylvester. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Showy metallic ornament, as of gold, silver, or copper, on bridles, saddles, etc. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The clasps and bullions were worth a thousand pound. Skelton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Heavy twisted fringe, made of fine gold or silver wire and used for epaulets; also, any heavy twisted fringe whose cords are prominent. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let me inform you, a toothless satire is as improper as a toothed sleek stone, and as bullish. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]