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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 ]

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. (Zool.) The male of any species of cattle (Bovidæ); hence, the male of any large quadruped, as the elephant; also, the male of the whale. [ 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 ]

v. i. To be in heat; to manifest sexual desire as cows do. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a bull; resembling a bull; male; large; fierce. [ 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 ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Bullæ [ L. bulla bubble. See Bull an edict. ] 1. (Med.) A bleb; a vesicle, or an elevation of the cuticle, containing a transparent watery fluid. [ 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 ]

n. [ OE. bolas, bolace, OF. beloce; of Celtic origin; cf. Arm. bolos, polos, Gael. bulaistear. ] (Bot.) (a) A small European plum (Prunus communis, var. insitita). See Plum. (b) The bully tree. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Bull an edict. ] Pertaining to, or used in, papal bulls. Fry. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

n.; pl. Bullaries [ Cf. Boilary. ] A place for boiling or preparing salt; a boilery. Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

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