English
bull
Bull comes from Middle English bole, from a conflation of Old English bula and Old Norse boli, both from Proto-Germanic *bulô, ultimately from PIE *bʰel-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-1‘to blow, swell up’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰl̥no-1reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bulô1‘bull’reconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bole1
- Englishearliest quotation 1821bull1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English bull
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1821, Bank of England, The Bank - The Stock Exchange - The Bankers ...: “This accompt has been made to appear a bull…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-Wiktionary, English bull‘to blow, swell up’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰl̥no-Wiktionary, English bullreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bulôWiktionary, English bull‘bull’reconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500boleWiktionary, English bull
- Englishearliest quotation 1821bullWiktionary, English bull. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1821, Bank of England, The Bank - The Stock Exchange - The Bankers ...: “This accompt has been made to appear a bull…”
The story
Of sense 11, (a man or boy), derived from the Philadelphia English pronunciation of boy, which is practically a homophone of bull.
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with bull, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to blow, swell up’
- ball ← bal ← *beall ← *balluz ← *bʰol-n-
- bowl ← bolle ← bolla ← *bollā ← *bullǭ
- bold ← bald ← *balþ ← *balþaz
- bell ← belle ← belle ← *bellā ← *bellǭ
- flame ← flawme ← flaumbe ← flamma ← *flagmā
- bald ← balled ← bæl ← *bāl ← *bēlą
- boil ← boillen ← boillir ← bulliō ← bulla
- blaze ← blase ← blæse ← *blasā ← *blasǭ
- bale ← bǣl ← *bāl ← *bēlą
- blush ← blusshen ← blysċan ← *blaskijaną ← *bluskijaną
- blur ← bleren ← *blerian ← *blaʀjan ← *blazjaną
- blizzard ← blysa ← *blusi ← *blusją
87 more relatives in the full family tree
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Another origin of bull
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰel-‘to sound’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbulla‘a bulla: a protective amulet worn by upper-class Roman children’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400bulle‘a letter sealed with a bull (seal)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bulle‘papal bull, bull’
- Englishtodaybull
Another origin of bull
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰā-uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bō-‘a stem meaning father, brother, close male relation’uncertain
- Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600bôlen‘to court, to woo’uncertain
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400bouler‘to deceive, delude, lure, take in’uncertain
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400boul‘fraud, deceit, cunning’uncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bull‘falsehood, deceit’
- Englishtodaybull
Often reanalyzed by surface analysis to be an expurgated clipping of bullshit.
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Today it means
noun An adult male, specifically: Specifically, one that is uncastrated.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “bull”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- / bull