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bull

A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology | 2004 | | Copyright

bull [MidE, OE, ON]. The male bovine animal has long been an important figure in the Celtic imagination, especially as an emblem of strength and virility, although less important than the boar or stag and less important than in other cultures, notably Persian, Syrian, Minoan, and Iberian. The word for ‘bull’ is remarkably uniform across Celtic languages: OIr. tarb; ModIr. and ScG tarbh; Manx tarroo; W tarw; Corn. tarow; Bret. tarv. Representations of the bull are found in Celtic art as early as the Urnfield period (c.800 BC), often associated with the egret. The divine bull of Celtic settlements in Asia Minor was known as Deotaros. The Gauls worshipped a three-horned bull known as Tarvos trigaranus, one representation of which is found in the Cluny Museum, Paris. Bulls appeared on Gaulish coins, and may have been venerated in such names as Donnotaurus [Brown or Kingly Bull]. Figures of bulls are carved in stone near Burghead, Morayshire. Several heroes in Celtic stories wear bull horns, e.g. Furbaide Ferbend.

The most celebrated bulls in Celtic literature are the brown (Donn Cuailnge) and white (Finnbennach) ones in the Táin Bó Cuailnge [Cattle Raid of Cooley]. The battle between them and the subsequent victory of the brown bull is the climax of the narrative. Many commentators have observed that both bulls are probably of divine origin. Two bulls associated with water appear in Celtic folk-lore, the Scottish Gaelic tarbh uisge and the Manx tarroo ushtey, comparable figures that are less malign than horses of the water. Another Scottish bull was thought to have defeated an English one, according to a tradition associated with a stone known as Clach nan Tarbh near Loch Lomond. In Christian times the bull was identified with St Luke the Evangelist, and in Renaissance physics the bull was linked with earth, one of the four elements.

Bulls were used in divination in both Ireland and Scotland. At Tara a new king might be chosen in the tarbfheis, ‘bull-feast’ or ‘bull-sleep’, in which a bull was killed and a man ate his fill of its flesh, drank its broth, and then lay down to sleep. After an incantation had been chanted over him by four druids, the dreamer would know the new king in his dream. In Scotland a person might answer an important question about the future (no king was to be selected) by wrapping himself in the warm, smoking hide of a newly slain bull in a remote place, such as near a waterfall. Upon going into a trance the person would have the answer. This method was known as taghairm, a term that might also apply to the roasting of cats.
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JAMES MacKILLOP. "bull." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAMES MacKILLOP. "bull." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-bull.html

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bull

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

bull [Lat. bulla =leaden seal], papal letter. As the diplomatic organization of the papal chancery progressed in the Middle Ages, the papal bull came to be more solemn than the papal brief or encyclical . The letter, traditionally sealed with lead, but in special circumstances with silver or gold, begins with the name of the pope and his title as servus servorum Dei [servant of the servants of God]. Today only the consistorial bull, the most solemn of all papal pronouncements, carries the leaden seal; all other bulls and lesser documents have a red ink seal. The titles of bulls are the first few words of its Latin text. Famous bulls include Clericis laicos (1296) and Unam sanctam (1302) issued by Boniface VIII in his struggle with Philip IV of France; the Bull of Demarcation (1493) by Alexander VI; Exsurge Domine (1520) by Leo X against Martin Luther; Unigenitus (1713) by Clement XI, against Jansenism; Dominus ac Redemptor (1773) by Clement XIV, suppressing the Jesuits; Quanta cura (1864) by Pius IX, introducing the Syllabus errorum; Pastor aeternus (1871) by Pius IX, on papal infallibility; and Munificentissimus Deus (1950) by Pius XII, defining the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Pope John XXIII issued a consistorial bull, Humanae Salutis, in 1961 to convoke the 21st ecumenical council. The papal bull is used to proclaim the canonization of a saint. A bullarium is a collection of papal bulls; the most famous published bullaria are the Roman Bullarium (1733-62) and the Turin Bullarium (1857-85).

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bull

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

bull1 a bull is the emblem of St Luke, St Frideswide, and St Thomas Aquinas; the Bull is the zodiacal sign and constellation Taurus.

On the Stock Exchange, a person who buys shares hoping to sell them at a higher price later is known as a bull; the term is recorded from the early 18th century.



In Egyptian mythology, the god Apis was depicted as a bull, symbolizing fertility and strength in war.



The word dates from late Old English (in form bula, recorded in place names), and comes from Old Norse boli.


bull in a china shop a clumsy person in a situation calling for adroit movement; the phrase is recorded from the mid 19th century.
bull market a market in which share prices are rising, encouraging buying (compare bear market at bear2).
bull-roarer a sacred object of Australian Aboriginal ceremony and ritual, so called because of a fancied resemblance to a child's toy. A bull-roarer consists of a flat oval carved piece of wood, pointed at each end and pierced at one end; a string is threaded through the hole so that the bull-roarer can be swung round, making a booming noise. It is also known as a churinga.
Bull Run a small river in eastern Virginia, scene of two Confederate victories, in 1861 and 1862, during the American Civil War.
like a bull at a gate with the angry vigour of a bull charging a restraining (‘five-barred’) gate; the expression is recorded from the late 19th century.
take the bull by the horns take a firm grasp on a difficult issue; the expression is recorded from the early 18th century.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bull." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bull

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

bull1 / boŏl/ • n. 1. an uncastrated male bovine animal: [as adj.] bull calves. ∎  a large male animal, esp. a whale or elephant. ∎  (the Bull) the zodiacal sign or constellation Taurus. 2. Stock Market a person who buys shares hoping to sell them at a higher price later. Often contrasted with bear2 . • v. [tr.] push or drive powerfully or violently: he bulled the motorcycle clear of the tunnel. PHRASES: take the bull by the horns deal bravely and decisively with a difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant situation. bull2 • n. a papal edict. bull3 • n. inf. stupid or untrue talk or writing; nonsense: much of what he says is sheer bull.

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Bull

Allusions--Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary | 1986 | Copyright

88. Bull

  1. Apis bull of Memphis, created in Osiris’ image. [Egypt. Myth.: Benét, 41]
  2. Buchis black bull worshiped as chief city god. [Egypt. Rel.: Parrinder, 52]
  3. Cretan bull sacred to Poseidon; sent to Minos. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 68]
  4. Ferdinand daydreaming bull who refuses to fight in ring. [Children’s Lit.: The Story of Ferdinand ]
  5. Minotaur fabulous monster of Crete, half-bull, half-man. [Gk. Myth.: EB, VI: 922]
  6. Taurus constellation of the zodiac symbolized by the bull. [Astrology: EB, IX: 844]
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bull

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

bull2 a papal edict. Recorded from Middle English, the word comes via Old French from Latin bulla ‘bubble, rounded object’, in medieval Latin, ‘seal or sealed document’. Also called papal bull.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bull." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bull

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

bull1 male of the ox, etc. Late OE. bula (in place-names), ME. bole — ON. boli, corr, to MLG. bulle, MDu. bulle, bolle (Du. bul), f. a base whence the OE. dim. bulluc BULLOCK.
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T. F. HOAD. "bull." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "bull." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-bull.html

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bull

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

bull2 papal edict XIII; official seal XIV. — (O)F. bulle — L. bulla bubble, round object, in medL. seal, sealed document; cf. BOIL2.
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bull

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

bull3 †jest; expression containing contradiction in terms or implying ludicrous inconsistency. XVII. of unkn. orig.
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Bull

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Bull (Lat. bulla, ‘seal’). A papal document or mandate, so-called because sealed officially.
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JOHN BOWKER. "Bull." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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bull

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | | Copyright

bull. A written mandate of the Pope of a more serious and weighty kind than a ‘brief’.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "bull." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "bull." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-bull.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "bull." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-bull.html

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bull

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

bull see cattle .

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bull

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

bull •bull, full, Istanbul, pull, push-pull, wool •Kabul • bagful •manful, panful •capful, lapful •hatful • carful • armful • artful •wilful (US willful) • sinful • fitful •eyeful • boxful • potful •awful, lawful •woeful • joyful • rueful • useful •tubful •jugful, mugful •cupful • earful • ring pull • lambswool •schedule • residual

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