Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der. Proto-Germanic *bulô Old English bula ▲ Proto-Germanic *bulô Old Norse bolibor. Middle English bole English bull 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”), Albanian bolle (“testicles”), Ancient Greek φαλλός (phallós, “penis”). Of sense 11, (a man or boy), derived from the Philadelphia English pronunciation of boy, which is practically a homophone of bull.

Large and strong, like a bull.
Of large mammals, adult male.
“a bull elephant”
“With the low, guttural snarl of the bull ape he sprang for the Frenchman.”
Characterized by rising prices or belief that prices will rise.
“a bull market”
Stupid.

name

A surname transferred from the nickname derived from the name of the animal.

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bew-der.? Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der.? Latin bullabor. Old French bullebor. Middle English bowle English bull From Middle English bowle, boule, from Old French bulle, boule (“ball”), from Latin bulla (“round swelling”), of Gaulish origin. Doublet of bull (“papal bull”) and bulla.

A bubble.

verb

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- Proto-Germanic *bō- Middle Low German bôlenbor. Old French bouler Old French boulbor. Middle English bull English bull From Middle English bull, bul, boule (“falsehood, deceit”), probably from Old French boul, boule, bole (“fraud, deceit, cunning”), from Old French bouler, boler (“to deceive, delude, lure, take in”), from Middle Low German bôlen (“to court, to woo”). Cognate with German buhlen (“to woo”). Doublet of bully. Often reanalyzed by surface analysis to be an expurgated clipping of bullshit.

To mock; to cheat.
To lie, to tell untruths.
To polish (boots) to a high shine.
“We were to repeat our normal practise of me bulling his boots and him ironing my kit.”