Etymologically
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bullet

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 11:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbʊlɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French boulette (“small ball”), and boulet, cannonball,[2][3][4] diminutives of boule (“ball”) (see bowl),[2][5] from Latin bulla (“bubble, round thing, knob”).[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cannonball: 1557 in Barnhart, the OED and MWU, the 1550s in Etymonline; the sense is now obsolete except in history.[2][7][4][3]

Semantic evolution

A small round ball is from 1578, and a ball of lead or metal for small firearms from 1579, the 1570s in Etymonline.[7][3] An angler's sinker is from 1587.[7] Figuratively, the sack or notice to quit is slang from 1841,[7] and the phrase to get the bullet was known in Staffordshire.[8] In typography a bullet is a large dot marking an item in a list.[9][10] Bite the bullet, to face something unpleasant with courage, is from 1891 as bite on the bullet and 1923 in its present form, perhaps from giving a wounded man a bullet to bite during an operation.[2][3] In northern England and Scotland a bullet was also a round sweet.[8]

Timeline

  • 1557 – a cannonball.[2][7]
  • 1579 – a ball for firearms.[7]
  • 1841 – the sack (slang).[7]
  • 1891 – bite on the bullet.[2][3]
  • 1923 – bite the bullet.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A small metal projectile fired from a gun.
  2. A cartridge containing such a projectile.
  3. A heavy dot used to mark items in a list.

Word family

  • bulleted
  • bulletless
  • bulletlike
  • bullethead
  • bulletin
  • bulletproof
  • bullet train
  • bullet wood

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin