bully: [16] Bullies have undergone a sad decline in status. In the 16th century the word meant ‘sweetheart’: ‘Though she be somewhat old, it is my own sweet bully’, John Bale, Three laws 1538. But gradually the rot set in, its meaning passing through ‘fine fellow’ to ‘blusterer’ to the present-day harasser of inferiors. In the 18th and 19th centuries it also meant ‘pimp’.
It is probably a modification of Dutch boele ‘lover’ which, as a term of endearment, may have originated as baby-talk. This bully has no connection with the bully of bully beef [18], which comes from French bouilli, the past participle of bouillir ‘boil’. The bully of bully off [19], a now discontinued way of starting play in hockey, appears to come from a term for ‘scrummage’ in Eton football, but whether that is related to the cruel bully is not clear.
bully (n.)
1530s, originally "sweetheart," applied to either sex, from Dutch boel "lover; brother," probably a diminutive of Middle Dutch broeder "brother" (compare Middle High German buole "brother," source of German Buhle "lover;" see brother (n.)).
Meaning deteriorated 17c. through "fine fellow" and "blusterer" to "harasser of the weak" (1680s, from bully-ruffian, 1650s). Perhaps this was by influence of bull (n.1), but a connecting sense between "lover" and "ruffian" may be in "protector of a prostitute," which was one sense of bully (though not specifically attested until 1706). The expression meaning "worthy, jolly, admirable" (especially in 1864 U.S. slang bully for you!) is first attested 1680s, and preserves an earlier, positive sense of the word.
bully (v.)
1710, from bully (n.). Related: Bullied; bullying.
例文
1. Some people accuse the tax inspectors of bully -boy tactics.
税務調査員がごろつきの手段を使ったと告発する人もいる。
2.Our maths teacher was a bully and a complete barrian.
私たちの数学の先生は悪党で、完全に野蛮人です。
3.The aggression of a bully leaves people feeling hurt,angry and impotent.
暴徒の侵犯に人々は心を痛め、怒りを感じているが、どうすることもできない。
4.He 's a coward and a bully who confuses physical strength with manhood.
彼は臆病者で、力強さと男らしさの区別がつかない強靭な人だ。
5.We think an attempt to bully them into submission would be counterproductive.