"bulldyke" shortened from "bulldog-like"?

[Laurence Horn]

>Of course plausibility is in the eye of the beholder. In this case I find a
>very few etymologies plausible, many others (such as one from "Van Dyke at
>Bull Run") not plausible. The "null hypothesis" that somebody just made the
>word up out of thin air (actually presumably because it sounded like some
>other relevant words) is certainly a possibility too. And then of course
>there are the possibilities which haven't been thought of.
>
>-- Doug Wilson

One more implausible one to be found on the web:  "dyke" < Dike, the
Greek storm goddess   Not to be confused with Nike, the Greek shoe
goddess.

larry