Arbuthnot, John Syllabification: (Ar·buth·not, John)Pronunciation: /ärˈbəTHnət, ˈärbəTHˌnät/Definition of Arbuthnot, John (1667–1735), Scottish physician and writer. His satirical History of John Bull (1712) was the origin of John Bull as the personification of the typical Englishman. Arbuthnot, John in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of Arbuthnot, John in the British & World English dictionary