Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BUL'LATE, a. [L. bullatus.]

Having elevations, like blisters; as, a bullate leaf. – Martyn.

BULL'-BAIT-ING, n. [bull and bait.]

The practice of baiting or exciting bulls with dogs. – Addison.

BULL'-BEEF, n. [bull and beef.]

The flesh of a bull; coarse beef. – Shak.

BULL'-BEG-GAR, n. [bull and beggar.]

Something terrible, or frightful. – Ayliffe.

BULL'-CALF, n. [bull and calf.]

A male calf; a stupid fellow. – Shak.

BULL'-DOG, n. [bull and dog.]

A species of dog of a particular form and of remarkable courage; so named probably from being employed in baiting bulls, or from the size of the head.

BULL'ET, n. [Fr. boulet, dim. of boule, a ball. See Ball.]

A ball of iron or lead, called also shot, used to load guns for killing man or beast. Balls for cannon are made of iron; musket-balls are made of lead.

BULL'E-TIN, n. [Fr. bulletin, a ballot, a packet, a certificate; Sp. boletin, a ticket or warrant; boleta, a ticket, a billet; Port. boleta; It. bulletta, bullettino; properly, a roll. A French word denoting:]

1. An official report from an officer to his commander or superior.
2. An official report of a physician respecting the king's health.
3. A little note given by a banking company.
4. It is sometimes used for a notice, or public announcement; as, a bibliographical bulletin.

BULL'-FAC-ED, a.

Having a large face. – Dryden.

BULL'-FEAST,

See BULL-FIGHT.

BULL'-FIGHT, n. [bull and fight.]

A combat with a bull; an amusement among the Spaniards and Portuguese. A horseman, called a toreador or picador, attacks a bull in a circus or inclosed arena, in presence of multitudes of spectators, irritating him with a spear, till the bull rushes upon the horseman, and perhaps dismounts the rider. After the bull has been tormented a long time, the horseman leaves him, and some persons on foot attack him aud plunge darts into his neck; and at a signal given by the president, the barbarous sport is ended by the dagger of a matador. – Encyc.

BULL'-FINCH, n. [bull and finch.]

A bird of the sparrow kind, whose breast, cheeks and throat are of a crimson color; the Rubicilla. – Dict. of Nat. Hist.

BULL'-FLY, or BULL'-BEE, n.

An insect. – Philips.

BULL'-FROG, n. [bull and frog.]

The Rana ocellata, a large species of frog, found in North America, of a dusky brown color, mixed with a yellowish green, and spotted with black. These frogs live in stagnant water, and utter a loud croaking sound, from which they probably received their name.

BULL'-HEAD, n. [bull and head.]

1. A genus of fishes, the Cottus, with a head broader than the body, whence the name. This fish is called by some the Miller's thumb. – Encyc.
2. A stupid fellow; a lubber. – Johnson.
3. A small black water vermin. – Philips.

BULL'I-ED, pp.

Insulted.

BULL'ION, n. [Fr. billon, base coin.]

Uncoined gold or silver in the mass. The precious metals are called bullion, when smelted and not perfectly refined, or when refilled, but in bars, ingots, or in any form uncoined, as in plate. – Encyc.

BULL'ISH, a.

Partaking of the nature of a bull or blunder. – Milton.

BULL'IST, n.

A writer of papal bulls. – Harmar.

BUL'LITE, n.

A petrified shell, or the fossil remains of shells, of the genus Bulla. – Jameson.

BUL-LI'TION, n. [L. bullio, to boil. See Boil.]

The act or state of boiling. Superseded by ebullition. – Bacon.

BULL'OCK, n. [Sax. bulluca; G. bullochs.]

An ox, or castrated bull. In America, it is applied to a full-grown ox.

BULLS-AND-BEARS, n. [Bulls and bears.]

A cant term among stock-brokers for buyers and sellers of stocks on speculation.

BULL'S'EYE, n. [bull and eye.]

1. Among seamen, a piece of wood in the form of a ring, answering the purpose of a thimble. – Mar. Dict.
2. Aldebaran, a star of the first magnitude in the constellation Taurus. – Ash.
3. A small obscure cloud, ruddy in the middle, portending a great storm. – Encyc.
4. In architecture, a small circular or elliptical window.

BULL'-TROUT, n. [bull and trout.]

A large species of trout, called also Sea-trout, thicker than the common sort, and weighing about three pounds. Its back has a bluish green gloss, and there are several black spots on the sides. – Dict. of Nat. Hist.