bulle (Old French)

Where does "bulle" come from?

The Old French noun 'bulle', meaning 'seal' or 'a letter sealed with a bull', was borrowed from Latin 'bulla'[1]. The Latin term has an uncertain origin, possibly stemming from Proto-Indo-European roots connected to swelling or blowing, or ultimately originating as an onomatopoeic word[2]. It is also noted as a doublet of 'bille'.

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of the Latin root 'bulla' is uncertain, with proposed connections to Proto-Indo-European roots meaning swelling or blowing, or an onomatopoeic origin. [2]

Full etymology tree

• bulle (Old French), 'seal (a stamp in wax to seal a letter)'
  • borrowed bulla (Latin), 'a bubble'

Ancestors

• bulla (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• bille (Old French)

Descendants and derived words

• bulle (Middle English)
• bulle (Middle French)

Sources

1. bulle (Old French) - Wiktionary
2. bulla (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris