bullet English · revision 6604

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1557|origins=la bulla}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbʊlɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|boulette|t=small ball]], and boulet, cannonball,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) diminutives of [[m|fr|boule|t=ball]] (see [[bowl]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|bulla|t=bubble, round thing, knob]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A cannonball: 1557 in Barnhart, the OED and MWU, the 1550s in Etymonline; the sense is now obsolete except in history.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) An angler's sinker is from 1587.^(OED 1989) Figuratively, the sack or notice to quit is slang from 1841,^(OED 1989) and the phrase ''to get the bullet'' was known in Staffordshire.^(Wright 1898) In typography a bullet is a large dot marking an item in a list.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD) ''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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) In northern England and Scotland a bullet was also a round sweet.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1557 – a cannonball.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1579 – a ball for firearms.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1841 – the sack (slang).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1891 – bite on the bullet.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1923 – bite the bullet.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small metal [[projectile]] fired from a [[gun]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[cartridge]] containing such a projectile.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A heavy dot used to mark items in a list.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bulleted]]

+ * [[bulletless]]

+ * [[bulletlike]]

+ * [[bullethead]]

+ * [[bulletin]]

+ * [[bulletproof]]

+ * [[bullet train]]

+ * [[bullet wood]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bowl]]

+ * [[ballot]]

+ * [[bull]]

+ * [[boulder]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}