Bul"lion (bụl"yŭn), n. [Cf. OE.
bullyon a hook used for fastening the dress, a button, stud, an
embossed ornament of various kinds, e. g., on the cover of a book,
on bridles or poitrels, for purses, for breeches and doublets, LL.
bullio the swelling of boiling water, a mass of gold or silver, fr.
L. bulla boss, stud, bubble (see Bull an edict), or perh.
corrupted fr. F. billon base coin, LL. billio bullion. Cf.
Billon, Billet a stick.] 1. Uncoined
gold or silver in the mass.
☞ Properly, the precious metals are called bullion, when
smelted and not perfectly refined, or when refined, but in bars, ingots or
in any form uncoined, as in plate. The word is often often used to denote
gold and silver, both coined and uncoined, when reckoned by weight and in
mass, including especially foreign, or uncurrent, coin.
2. Base or uncurrent coin. [Obs.]
And those which eld's strict doom did disallow,
And damm for bullion, go for current now.
Sylvester.
3. Showy metallic ornament, as of gold, silver, or
copper, on bridles, saddles, etc. [Obs.]
The clasps and bullions were worth a thousand
pound.
Skelton.
4. Heavy twisted fringe, made of fine gold or
silver wire and used for epaulets; also, any heavy twisted fringe whose
cords are prominent.