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Taurus

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Etymology and origin of the English word Taurus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
Old English
Borrowed from
Latin taurus via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin taurus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin taurus
English Taurus
From the same root
Latin taurīnus ← taurus

Pronunciation

  • /ˈtɔːɹəs/[1]
  • US: /ˈtɑɹəs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English Taurus, also Taur,[2][3] borrowed from Latin taurus (“bull”), also the Latin name of the constellation,[4][2][5] with Anglo-Norman Taure beside it.[2] The Latin word is compared with Ancient Greek ταῦρος (taûros), Lithuanian tauras (“aurochs”) and Old Prussian tauris (“bison”).[6][2] Its further history is disputed: Etymonline reports a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *tauro- (“bull”), which would be related to the English steer,[2][3] while Klein considers it probably Semitic, comparing the Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic words for "bull".[6][2] De Vaan, quoted by Etymonline, notes that it has no cognate in Indo-Iranian or Tocharian and may be an early loan into the western Indo-European languages.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The constellation and sign, the Bull: in Old English according to the Shorter Oxford.[5] The OED, in an entry not fully revised, has the sign in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew de Glanville in 1398,[4] and Merriam-Webster also dates it to the 14th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

The OED's earliest quotation for the constellation, distinct from the sign, is from Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus in 1594.[4] It notes that the sign was originally identical with the constellation.[4] The use for a person born under the sign dates from 1901, in both the OED and Etymonline,[4][2] and the Taurid meteors are named from it from 1878.[2] William Somerville in 1727 used a verb Taurise of Jove changing his form.[2] A separate TAURUS, an acronym, was a computer system for share transactions on the London Stock Exchange in the late 20th century.[5]

Timeline

  • 1398 – the second sign of the zodiac, in Trevisa.[4]
  • 1594 – the constellation, in Shakespeare.[4]
  • 1901 – a person born under the sign.[4][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. In astrology, the second sign of the zodiac, the Bull, associated with the period from about 21 April to 20 May.[5][7][3]
  2. A person born under this sign.[3][7][4]
  3. A northern constellation between Aries and Gemini, containing the Pleiades and the Hyades.[7][4][3]

Word family

  • Taurine
  • Taurean

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Taurus.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/Taurus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·