bulletin

Etymology

It is borrowed from French bulletin,^[2][3][4][5] which was modelled on Italian bullettino (also bollettino), a note, pass or bill of health,^[2][6][7][8] a diminutive of bulletta (“passport, voting slip, lottery ticket”).^[7][2][9] That noun is itself a diminutive of Medieval Latin bulla (“papal edict, seal, document”), in classical Latin a round object or bubble, the source of bull "a papal edict".^[2][3][10] Ayto accordingly describes a bulletin as an edict made small twice over.^[11] Barnhart derives the French word from bullette (“certificate”).^[8] The 17th-century uses were borrowed directly from Italian, while the modern word, first found in the second half of the 18th century, comes from French;^{[6][8][9][12]} John Evelyn used the Italian word itself in 1645, for a bill of health.^[6] The Italian diminutive was also briefly borrowed into English in the 17th century as bullet, a voting ball.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

A short note or memorandum: 1651, in J. Saint-Amard's translation of F. Micanzio's life of Father Paul Sarpi.^[6] Barnhart has the same year for the sense "official certificate", which the OED records in 1673, for a warrant of appointment to an office.^[8][6]

Semantic evolution

The word was borrowed anew from French in the 18th century.^[6][12] Horace Walpole used it in 1765 for an official statement on the health of a sick person, and Merriam-Webster and Etymonline also date the modern word to 1765.^[6][3][2] A short official account of public news, from 1791 in Edmund Burke, came to mean around 1800 especially a report sent home by a commander from the front;^[6][8] Etymonline and Weekley credit Napoleon's war bulletins with popularizing it, which gave the proverbial as false as a bulletin.^[2][12] Radio brought the news bulletin in 1925.^[6][2] Bulletin board is recorded from 1831, and in computing from 1979.^[2] The verb, to announce by bulletin, is dated 1812 by Merriam-Webster and 1838 by the OED.^[3][6]

Timeline

• 1645 – Italian bulletino in English (Evelyn).^[6]
• 1651 – a short note; an official certificate.^[6][8]
• 1673 – a warrant of appointment (obsolete).^[6]
• 1765 – a statement on the health of a sick person.^[6][3]
• 1791 – a short official report of public news (Burke).^[6][8]
• 1812 – the verb, to announce by bulletin;^[3] 1838 in the OED.^[6]
• 1831 – bulletin board.^[2]
• 1925 – a broadcast news report.^[6][2]
• 1979 – a computer bulletin board.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A short official statement on a matter of public interest, such as the health of a well-known person: The palace issued a bulletin on the king's recovery.
2. A short broadcast summary of the news.
3. A periodical published by a society, institution or other organization.

Verb

1. To announce by means of a bulletin.

Word family

• bulletin board
• all-points bulletin

Related words

• bull
• bullet
• billet
• ballot
• bill

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
12. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray