From Middle English bole, bul, bule, from a conflation of Old English bula ("bull, steer") and Old Norse boli, both from Proto-Germanic *bulô ("bull"), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥no-, from *bʰel-. Cognate with West Frisian bolle, Dutch bul, German Low German Bull, German Bulle, Swedish bulla; also Old Irish ball ("limb"), Latin follis ("bellows, leather bag"), Thracian βόλινθος ("wild bull"), Albanian buall or related bolle, Ancient Greek φαλλός ("penis").
Middle English bulle, from Old French bulle, from Latin bulla, from Gaulish. bull, and bulla.
Middle English bull ("falsehood"), of Unknown origin. Possibly related to Old French boul, boule, bole. Popularly associated with bullshit.
Old French boule ("ball"), from Latin bulla ("round swelling"), of Gaulish origin. bull, and bulla.
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