bull3+ (bul)

[F. bulle, formerly bule = Sp. obs. bulla Pg. bolha = It. boll a, bulla, Life is as a bull rising on the water. Nowell . (Davies.) bull4 (bul), n. [Not found earlier than the 17th century, except as ME. bul (about A. D. 1320) in the doubtful pa age first quoted. Origin uncertain. Several anecdotes involving Irish speakers have been told (and appar. invented) to account for the word. It is usually a ociated with bull2 , a papal edict, in allusion, it is said, to the contrast between the humble profe ions of the pope, as in his styling himself servant of servants, and the absolutely dictatorial nature of his edicts. This explanation, which rests partly on the pa age quoted from Milton (cf. bullish2 , also in Milton), below, is hardly tenable on historical grounds. The Icel. bull , nonsense, bulla , talk nonsense, chat, is mod., and, if not from the E. word, is to be a ociated with bulla , boil, and ult. with L. bul la , a bubble: see bull3 .] A gro inconsistency in language; a ludicrous blunder involving a contradiction in terms: commonly regarded as especially characteristic of the Irish, and often called an Irish bull. Quilk man, quilk calf, quilk leon, quilk fugul I sal you tel, with-vten bul . Cursor Mundi (E. E. T. S.), L. 21969. I may say (without a Bull ) this controversy of yours is so much the more needle , by how much that about which it is (Reformation) is so without all controversy needful Charles Herle, Ahab's Fall (1644), Ded. And whereas the Papist boasts himself to be a Roman Catholic, it is a mere contradiction, one of the popes bulls , as if he should say universal particular; a Catholic schismatic. Milton , True Religion. IMG:content-2714.png:[blocks in formation] beast winter'd one whole summer for a noble." "That was a Bull, my Lord, I beleeve," says the fellow. Thoms , Anecdotes and Traditions (Camden Soc.), p. 79. =Syn. Error , Mistake , etc. See blunder . bulla (bul'ä), n.; pl. bulla (-ē). [L., a bubble, bo , knob, an ornament, etc.; hence E. bull2 , bulls, bill3 , bowl2 , etc.; cf. Hind. bulbulā , bullā , a bubble, and E. bubblel , etc.; all perhaps orig. imitative.] 1. An ornament in the form of a capsule or locket, in use among the ancient Romans, who adopted it from the Etruscans. It was worn especially around the neck as an amulet by Roman children, both boys and girls, its protective virtue being supposed to reside either in its precious material or in some substance inclosed within it. It was of gold in the families of the nobly born and the rich, and of commoner material among others. It was laid aside by young men upon attaining maturity, and dedicated to Hercules or to the household lares; by young women it was dedicated to Juno. When now my golden Bulla (hung on high To household gods) declar'd me past a boy. Dryden, tr. of Persius, Satires, v. 42. 2. A seal attached to a document. Specifically(a) A seal used by the emperors of Constantinople, and by the early emperors of the Holy Roman (German) Empire, and by other sovereigns. (b) A leaden seal attached to important documents i ued by the pope. See bull2, 2. IMG:content-2715.png:[blocks in formation] 3. Any ornament of rounded form, especially if suspended, such as those which are attached by small chains to the Hungarian crown.-4. In pathol., a bleb or portion of epidermis raised by the extravasation of a transparent watery fluid, as in erysipelas, etc.-5. In an at., an inflated portion of the bony external meatus of the ear, forming a more or le well-marked prominence on each side at the base of the skull of many animals, usually constituted by a bulbous tympanic bone. Also called bulla o ea. See extract. In some Marsupials, where the tympanic does not pa ppr. of bull are, attach the seal, collection of papal bulls. bullary (bul'a-ri), n. [A pedantic (law) form of boilary or boilery, as if 2. In pathol . , blistered.-3. In an at . , inflated; vaulted; ventricous; fornicated and with thin walls: as, a bullate tympanic bone (that is, one forming a bulla o ea).-4. In zoöl . , having the surface covered with irregular and slight elevations, giving a blistered appearance. bullatet, v. i. [L. bull at us , pp. of bull are , bubble, bulla , a bubble: see boil2 , bulla.] To bubble or boil.