• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the expression “bears and bulls” come from and What does it mean?

Where does the expression “bears and bulls” come from and What does it mean?

June 26, 2020 by Karen Hill

In stock market slang, a bear is a speculator who sells a stock that he does not own in the belief that before he must deliver the stock to its purchaser its price will have dropped so that he may make a profit on the transaction.

A bull, on the other hand, is optimistic of future rises in the value of a stock; he buys at what he believes to be a low price, encourages a demand for the stock, and thus expects to make his profit by selling at an increased value. Both gentlemen may get stung.

The terms have acquired additional meanings, but these are the basic senses.

We must again go to Exchange Alley, in London, to learn how these names originated. “Bear” was the earlier of the two designations. Even back in Bailey’s English Dictionary of 1720, we find the definition, “to sell a bear: to sell what one hath not.”

The allusion here is to an old proverb, so old that it is in many languages, appearing in many forms. The English version was, “to sell the bear-skin before the bear is caught.”

Thus, in Exchange Alley, stock sold, but not owned by one speculating on a decrease in price, was formerly called a “bear-skin,” and the dealer was known as a “bear-skin jobber.” Later, although still two hundred years ago, the title of the dealer was contracted to “bear.”

The origin of “bull,” used in this sense prior to 1720, is not positively known.

It is probable, however, that it was adopted through the long association of the two words, bear and bull, in the old English sports of bearbaiting and bullbaiting.

Related Facts

  • Where does the expression "till the cows come home" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "to come out flat footed" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "to come out at the little end of the horn" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "come off your perch" come from and What does it mean?
  • What does the expression "to get one's come uppance" mean and Where does it come from?
  • Where does the expression "to be ahead of the game" come from and What does to come out ahead mean?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What does the phrase “namby pamby” mean and Where does it come from?
Next Post: What does the saying “to jump over the broomstick” mean and Where does it come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy