n. (pl.)
Cl bol, pl. boles, buleʒ; WA bule, gen. sg. boyles, pl. bules
'(wild) bulls' (Modern English bulls)
PGmc Ancestor
*bulōn
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
boli 'bull'
(ONP boli (sb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Icel boli, Norw bol, ODan bul
OE Cognate
bula 'bull'
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
CCC5a
Bul- forms are markedly less frequent than is bol- in MED. They are cited from several early ME texts (Orrm, LB and the KG), and then mainly from the 15c. in literature (though they are far more widespread in place- and personal names, MED’s sense 4).
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Gaw 722; Cl 55, 392, 1682; WA 751*, 3846, 3903 etc.
Three occurrences in WA come in the phrase see bule(s) 'hippopotamus', often printed as a compound.