Optimistic, confident, and expecting positive results; in finance, believing prices will rise.
From 'bull' + '-ish' (having the quality of). The financial meaning emerged in 18th-century stock market terminology, contrasting with 'bearish', creating one of English's most famous metaphorical pairs.
No one knows for certain why bears and bulls got stuck as opposites in finance—some say it's because bulls thrust upward with horns while bears swipe downward, making perfect opposites!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.