In finance, a “bear market” is when the prices at a stock exchange are falling. From where does the term originate?
Answer: The description bearskin jobber, someone who sold stock he did not possess at an agreed price. This, in turn, is believed to originate from the Dutch saying, “don’t sell the bearskin before you’ve killed the bear”.
A more recent definition is that a bull market sees the market being tossed up and a bear market is clawed down. Hence the elaborate statue of both animals on New York’s Wall Street.
Source: New Words for Old – Recycling Our Language for the Modern World by Caroline Taggart
More at: History
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