Word.ws English Dictionary

Darwin's Bulldog

Darwin's Bulldog proper noun: nickname for Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895), British biologist and comparative anatomist.

Proper noun (1)

Darwin's Bulldog

  1. Nickname for Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895), British biologist and comparative anatomist
    • He said afterwards, “you know I have to take care of him, in fact I have always been Darwin's bulldog,” and this exactly expressed one of the many relations which existed so long between the two men. Huxley was not always fortunate in the intellectual calibre of the men to whom he lectured in the...1896, Henry F. Osborn, “Memorial tribute to Professor Thomas H. Huxley”, in Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, volume XV, New York, pages 46–47

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Darwin's bulldog

Darwin's bulldog

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Darwin's Bulldog

Forms of Darwin's Bulldog

alternative formDarwin's bulldog

Origin of Darwin's Bulldog

From a comparison the English biologist Huxley made between himself and the bulldog, since they are both ferocious fighters (the bulldog fights with spirit to win fights, and Huxley fought with spirit in defense of evolution). Also, a pun on actual animals named after Darwin (Darwin's finch, Darwin's frog, etc.).

Questions about Darwin's Bulldog

What does Darwin's Bulldog mean?
Darwin's Bulldog means nickname for Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895), British biologist and comparative anatomist.
What part of speech is Darwin's Bulldog?
Darwin's Bulldog is a proper noun.

Words near Darwin's Bulldog in the dictionary

  1. Darwin stubbies
  2. Darwin stubby
  3. Darwin's barberry
  4. Darwin's beetle
  5. Darwin's beetles
  6. Darwin's Bulldog
  7. Darwin's finch
  8. Darwin's finches
  9. Darwin's fox
  10. Darwin's foxes
  11. Darwin's frog

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Darwin's Bulldog (page history and authors); Darwin's bulldog (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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