Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BOUNCE, v.i. [D. bonzen, to bounce; bons, a bounce; allied probably to bound; Arm. boundiçza; Fr. bondir.]

1. To leap or spring; to fly or rush out suddenly. Out bounced the mastif. – Swift.
2. To spring or leap against any thing, so as to rebound; to beat or thump by a spring. Against his bosom bounced his heaving heart. – Dryden.
3. To beat hard, or thump, so as to make a sudden noise. Another bounced as hard as he could knock. – Swift.
4. To boast or bully; used in familiar speech. – Johnson.
5. To be bold or strong. – Shak.