LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

bulla

bulla f (genitive bullae)
Classical[ˈbʊl.la]Ecclesiastical[ˈbul.la]

Meaning

  1. femininea bubble
  2. femininea knob, boss, or stud, as on doors, shields, etc.
  3. femininehistoricala bulla: a protective (usually golden) amulet worn by upper-class Roman children
  4. Medieval Latinfemininehistoricala round metallic seal certifying official medieval documents, particularly the golden imperial seal and the leaden papal one.
  5. Medieval Latinfemininea papal bull or other official document sealed with a bulla

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativebullabullae
genitivebullaebullārum
dativebullaebullīs
accusativebullambullās
ablativebullābullīs
vocativebullabullae

bulla, ae, f. root vhal-; Gr. φαλ-; cf. φαλλός, φύλλον,
I. any object swelling up, and thus becoming round; hence,
I. A waterbubble, bubble: ut pluvio perlucida caelo Surgere bulla solet, Ov. M. 10, 734: crassior, Mart. 8, 33, 18; Plin. 31, 2, 8, § 12; App. M. 4, p. 145, 7.—Hence,
B. Trop., a bubble, trifle; vanity: si est homo bulla, eo magis senex, Varr. R. R. 1, 1, 1; Petr. 42, 4.—
II. Any thing rounded by art.
A. A boss, knob (upon a door, etc.): jussine in splendorem dari bullas has foribus nostris? Plaut. As. 2, 4, 20: bullas aureas ex valvis, auferre, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 56, § 124 (by such door-studs fortunate or unfortunate days were designated, Petr. 30, 4).—
B. A stud in a girdle: notis fulserunt cingula bullis Pallantis pueri, Verg. A. 12, 942; 9, 359; Aus. Cup. Cruc. 49; Prud. Psych. 476.—
C. The head of a pin in the water-clock, Vitr. 9, 6, 9 sq.—
III. Esp., the bulla, a kind of amulet worn upon the neck (mostly of gold), orig. an ornament of the Roman triumphers, in imitation of the Tuscan kings and Lucumones (Plut. Romul. 25; Fest. s. v. sardi, p. 252), but in the more brilliant era of the Romans worn by noble youths, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 58, § 152 (cf. Ascon. in h. l., acc. to whom bullae of leather were hung upon the necks of the children of freedmen); it was laid aside when they arrived at maturity, and consecrated to the Lares, Pers. 5, 30; cf.: Lares bullati, Petr. 60, 8; acc. to Plin. 33, 1, 4, § 10, first hung by Tarquinius Priscus upon the neck of his son; cf. also Macr. S. 1, 6, 9 sqq.; Plaut. Rud. 4, 4, 127; Liv. 26, 36, 5; Prop. 4 (5), 1, 131; Suet. Caes. 84; Flor. 2, 6, 24.—From the Etruscan custom, called Etruscum aurum, Juv. 5, 163.—Hence the phrase bullā dignus for childish: senior bullā dignissime, Juv. 13, 33.—It was also hung upon the forehead of favorite animals, Ov. M. 10, 114.

Origins

Uncertain; possibly from Gaulish [Term?], from Proto-Indo-European *bew- (“swelling”), same source as Middle Dutch puyl (“bag”) and Lithuanian bule (“buttocks”), or from *bʰel- (“to blow, to swell up”). Ultimately onomatopoeic, similar to Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós, “bulb”).

Borrowings
  • Catalanbutlla
  • Englishbull
  • Englishbulla
  • Portuguesebula
  • Spanishbula
  • Frenchbullefrom Old French bulle
  • Englishbillfrom Old French bulle
  • Asturianbulda
  • Galicianbula
  • Koine Greekβούλλᾰ
Western Romance
  • Frenchboulefrom Old French bole
  • Portuguesebola
  • Spanishbolla
  • Portuguesebolhafrom Spanish bolla
  • Friulianbole
  • Venetanbóła
  • Old Frenchbille
  • Galicianbola
  • Asturianbulla
  • Asturianbolla
Eastern Romance
  • Romanianbulă
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianbolla
  • Istriotbòla
  • Sicilianbuḍḍa

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesBullaBulla a water bubble, and, from the resemblance in form, a boss, sometimes of ivory, but usually of metal, employed, like the ή͂λοι of the Greeks, to …

Quick answers

What does bulla mean in Latin?
bulla, a noun, means “a bubble; a papal bull or other official document sealed with a bulla”.
What is the genitive of bulla?
The genitive singular is bullae. bulla is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce bulla?
In classical Latin, [ˈbʊl.la]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈbul.la].