VIDEO FOR BULLY

WATCH NOW: The Word "Bully" Used To Mean ... "Sweetheart"?!

The word bully is first recorded around the mid-1500s, when it actually meant—wait for it—“sweetheart.” What?!

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Origin of bully

1
First recorded in 1530–40, bully is from the Middle Dutch word boele lover

OTHER WORDS FROM bully

bul·ly·a·ble, adjective un·bul·lied, adjective un·bul·ly·ing, adjective

Words nearby bully

bullshot, bullsnake, bullwaddy, bullwhacker, bullwhip, bully, bully beef, bully pulpit, bully tree, bully-off, bullyboy

Definition for bully (2 of 3)

bully 2
[ boo l-ee ]
/ ˈbʊl i /

noun

bully beef.

Origin of bully

2
1865–70; < French bouilli, short for boeuf bouilli boiled meat. See boil1, beef

Definition for bully (3 of 3)

bully 3
[ boo l-ee ]
/ ˈbʊl i /

noun, plural bul·lies.

Soccer. a desperate, freewheeling scramble for the ball by a number of players, usually in the goal area.
Field Hockey. a method of putting the ball into play in which two opponents, facing each other, tap their sticks on the ground near the ball and then make contact with each other's sticks over the ball three times, after which each tries to gain possession of the ball.

Origin of bully

3
First recorded in 1860–65; of obscure origin

Content related to bully

Literary Bullies Who Are Meaner Than We Remembered Bullies are discussed a lot these days, but they aren't something new. Tormenters have been around for a long time ... especially in literature. Let's take an inside look at the characters who are bullies and learn about their consequences.
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The Word “Bully” Used To Mean … “Sweetheart”?! The word bully is first recorded around the mid-1500s, when it actually meant—wait for it—“sweetheart.” What?!
READ MORE

Words related to bully

oppressor, rascal, terrorize, torture, hector, bludgeon, coerce, harass, torment, persecute, threaten, oppress, browbeat, ruffian, tough, tease, rowdy, bulldozer, pest, persecutor

Example sentences from the Web for bully

British Dictionary definitions for bully (1 of 2)

Word Origin for bully

C16 (in the sense: sweetheart, hence fine fellow, hence swaggering coward): probably from Middle Dutch boele lover, from Middle High German buole, perhaps childish variant of bruoder brother

British Dictionary definitions for bully (2 of 2)

bully 2
/ (ˈbʊlɪ) /

noun plural -lies

any of various small freshwater fishes of the genera Gobiomorphus and Philynodon of New Zealand Also called (NZ): pakoko, titarakura, toitoi

Word Origin for bully

C20: short for cockabully