bully

- 6 dictionary results

–noun

a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.

Archaic. a man hired to do violence.

Obsolete. a pimp; procurer.

Obsolete. good friend; good fellow.

Obsolete. sweetheart; darling.

–verb (used with object)

to act the bully toward; intimidate; domineer.

–verb (used without object)

to be loudly arrogant and overbearing.

–adjective

Informal. fine; excellent; very good.

dashing; jovial; high-spirited.

–interjection

10.

Informal. good! well done!

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Origin:
1530–40; < MD boele lover

—Related forms

bul·ly·a·ble, adjective

un·bul·lied, adjective

un·bul·ly·ing, adjective

—Synonyms
6. cow, browbeat, coerce; terrorize, tyrannize.

Prevent School Bullying
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www.wagepeacetoday.com

–noun

bully beef.

Origin:
1865–70; < F bouilli, short for boeuf bouilli boiled meat. See boil¹, beef

–noun,plural-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:
1860–65; of obscure orig.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Link To bully

World English Dictionary

bully¹ (ˈbʊlɪ)

—n , pl -lies
1.	a person who hurts, persecutes, or intimidates weaker people
2.	archaic a hired ruffian
3.	obsolete a procurer; pimp
4.	obsolete a fine fellow or friend
5.	obsolete a sweetheart; darling

—vb (when tr, often foll by into) , -lies, -lies, -lying, -lied
6.	to hurt, intimidate, or persecute (a weaker or smaller person), esp to make him do something

—*adj*
7.	dashing; jolly: my bully boy
8.	informal very good; fine

—*interj*
9.	informal Also: bully for you well done! bravo!

[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 bruoderbrother]

bully² (ˈbʊlɪ)

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

[C20: short for cockabully]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin & History

bully

1530s, originally "sweetheart," applied to either sex, from Du. boel "lover, brother," probably dim. of M.H.G. buole "brother," of uncertain origin (cf. Ger. buhle "lover"). Meaning deteriorated 17c. through "fine fellow," "blusterer," to "harasser of the weak" (1680s, from bully-ruffian, 1650s). Perhaps this was by influence of bull (n.1), but a connecting sense between "lover" and "ruffian" may be in "protector of a prostitute," which was one sense of bully (though not specifically attested until 1706). The verb is first attested 1710. The expression meaning "worthy, jolly, admirable" (esp. in 1864 U.S. slang bully for you!) is first attested 1680s, and preserves an earlier, positive sense of the word.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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