branches because of hunters' taboo on names of wild animals (cf. the Ir. equivalent "the good calf," Welsh "honey-pig," Lith. "the licker," Rus. medved "honey-eater"). Others connect the Germanic word with Latin ferus "wild," as if it meant "the wild animal (par excellence) of the northern woods." Symbolic of Russia since 1794. Used of uncouth persons since 1570s. Meaning "speculator for a fall" is 1709 shortening of bearskin jobber (from the proverb sell the bearskin before one has caught the bear); i.e. "one who sells stock for future delivery, expecting that meanwhile prices will fall." Paired with bull from c.1720.
boreO.E. borian "to bore through, perforate," from bor "auger," from P.Gmc. *buron (cf. O.N. bora, Swed. borra, O.H.G. boron, M.Du. boren, Ger. bohren), from PIE base *bher- (2) "to cut with a sharp point" (cf. Gk. pharao "I plow," L. forare "to bore, pierce," O.C.S. barjo "to strike, fight," Albanian brime
"hole"). The meaning "diameter of a tube" is first recorded 1570s; hence figurative slang full bore (1936) "at maximum speed," from notion of unchoked carburetor on an engine. Sense of "be tiresome or dull" first attested 1768, a vogue word c.1780-81 according to Grose; possibly a figurative extension of "to move forward slowly and persistently," as a boring tool does.
"The secret of being a bore is to tell everything." [Voltaire, "Sept Discours en Vers sur l'Homme," 1738]