Part 861

2. A letter, edict, or respect, of the pope, written in Gothic characters on rough parchment, sealed with a bulla, and dated "a die Incarnationis," i. e., "from the day of the Incarnation." See Apostolical brief, under Brief.

A fresh bull of Leo's had declared how inflexible the court of Rome was in the point of abuses. Atterbury.

3. A grotesque blunder in language; an apparent congruity, but real incongruity, of ideas, contained in a form of expression; so called, perhaps, from the apparent incongruity between the dictatorial nature of the pope's bulls and his professions of humility.

And whereas the papist boasts himself to be a Roman Catholic, it is a mere contradiction, one of the pope's bulls, as if he should say universal particular; a Catholic schimatic. Milton.

The Golden Bull, an edict or imperial constitution made by the emperor Charles IV. (1356), containing what became the fundamental law of the German empire; -- so called from its golden seal.

Syn. -- See Blunder.

||Bul"la (&?;), n.; pl. Bullæ (&?;). [L. bulla bubble. See Bull an edict.] 1. (Med.) A bleb; a vesicle, or an elevation of the cuticle, containing a transparent watery fluid.

2. (Anat.) The ovoid prominence below the opening of the ear in the skulls of many animals; as, the tympanic or auditory bulla.

3. A leaden seal for a document; esp. the round leaden seal attached to the papal bulls, which has on one side a representation of St. Peter and St. Paul, and on the other the name of the pope who uses it.

4. (Zoöl.) A genus of marine shells. See Bubble shell.

Bul"lace (&?;), n. [OE. bolas, bolace, OF. beloce; of Celtic origin; cf. Arm. bolos, polos, Gael. bulaistear.] (Bot.) (a) A small European plum (Prunus communis, var. insitita). See Plum. (b) The bully tree.

Bul*lan"tic (&?;), a. [See Bull an edict.] Pertaining to, or used in, papal bulls. Fry.

Bullantic letters, Gothic letters used in papal bulls.

Bul"la*ry (&?;), n. [LL. bullarium: cf. F. bullairie. See Bull an edict.] A collection of papal bulls.

Bul"la*ry, n.; pl. Bullaries (-rz). [Cf. Boilary.] A place for boiling or preparing salt; a boilery. Crabb.

And certain salt fats or bullaries. Bills in Chancery.

Bul"late (bl"lt/), a. [L. bullatus, fr. bulla bubble.] (Biol.) Appearing as if blistered; inflated; puckered.

Bullate leaf (Bot.), a leaf, the membranous part of which rises between the veins puckered elevations convex on one side and concave on the other.

Bull"beg`gar (&?;), n. Something used or suggested to produce terror, as in children or persons of weak mind; a bugbear.

And being an ill-looked fellow, he has a pension from the church wardens for being bullbeggar to all the forward children in the parish. Mountfort (1691).

Bull" bri`er (&?;). (Bot.) A species of Smilax (S. Pseudo-China) growing from New Jersey to the Gulf of Mexico, which has very large tuberous and farinaceous rootstocks, formerly used by the Indians for a sort of bread, and by the negroes as an ingredient in making beer; -- called also bamboo brier and China brier.

Bull"comb*er (&?;), n. (Zoöl.) A scaraboid beetle; esp. the Typhæus vulgaris of Europe.

Bull"dog` (&?;), n. 1. (Zoöl.) A variety of dog, of remarkable ferocity, courage, and tenacity of grip; -- so named, probably, from being formerly employed in baiting bulls.

2. (Metal.) A refractory material used as a furnace lining, obtained by calcining the cinder or slag from the puddling furnace of a rolling mill.

Bull"dog`, a. Characteristic of, or like, a bulldog; stubborn; as, bulldog courage; bulldog tenacity.

Bulldog bat (Zo'94l.), a bat of the genus Nyctinomus; -- so called from the shape of its face.

Bull"doze` (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bulldozed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Bulldozing.] To intimidate; to restrain or coerce by intimidation or violence; -- used originally of the intimidation of negro voters, in Louisiana. [Slang, U.S.]

Bull"do`zer (&?;), n. One who bulldozes. [Slang]