Resembling or characteristic of a bear in behavior or temperament; rough, gruff, or surly in manner; in finance, expecting or predicting a decline in prices.
From 'bear' plus the suffix '-ish' (meaning 'having the quality of'). The financial meaning derives from a proverb about selling bearskin before the bear is caught, associating bears with loss and decline.
It's wild that 'bearish' and 'bullish' in finance are actually opposite terms—the bear represents downturns while the bull represents rising markets, and this pairing has persisted in trading for centuries as the ultimate battle of market optimism versus pessimism.
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