Bullock

How to spell bullock

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce bullock

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does bullock mean?

1. nounA young bull, especially a castrated male of the cattle family raised for beef.

Bullock in a sentence

• The farmer sold the bullock at the spring livestock auction.

• A heavy bullock grazed quietly in the corner of the field.

Where does bullock come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Bullock comes from the Old English word 'bulluc', which was a diminutive form of 'bula', meaning 'bull'. The little ending '-ock' was a native Old English suffix used to mark something as small or young, so the word literally meant 'little bull' or 'young bull'. Over the centuries the sense narrowed in British usage to mean a castrated young male of the cattle family, raised for beef or for work in the field. The same '-ock' diminutive can still be spotted in words such as 'hillock' (a little hill) and 'paddock'. The doubled 'l' and the unstressed second syllable, which sounds like a vague '-uck', are the parts that trip writers up, even though the spelling simply preserves the old root 'bull' plus the diminutive tail.

How the word is built

• bull (male bovine)
• -ock (Old English diminutive suffix)