Where does “bullfight” come from?
Bullfight derives from bull, from Middle English bulle, from Latin bulla meaning bubble or seal, from Proto-Indo-European bʰel- meaning to swell.
bullfight (English): A public spectacle, in Spain and some other Latin...
Definitions
- A public spectacle, in Spain and some other Latin...
Ancestry of “bullfight”, step by step
bullfight traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English fight
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fight | To contend in physical conflict, either singly or... |
| 2 | Middle English | fighten | Simple past faght and past participle foghten... |
| 3 | Old English | feohtan | to fight |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | fehtan | to fight |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fehtaną | to comb, detangle |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | peḱ- | to pluck; livestock; wealth |