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taurinus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word taurinus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin taurus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin taurus
Latin taurinus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [tau̯ˈriː.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [tau̯ˈriː.nus][1]

Forms

taurīnus (feminine taurīna, neuter taurīnum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin taurus (“bull”) + -īnus.[2][1][3][4] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of taurus, which goes back to Proto-Italic *tauro- (“bull”); that noun is cognate with Ancient Greek ταῦρος (taûros, “bull”), but its earlier history is uncertain, and de Vaan considers that it may be an early loanword, since similar words for “bull” exist in Semitic.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,[5][6] who in the Bacchides has follēs taurīnī, bellows of oxhide.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word means “of a bull or ox”, of the animal's hide, head, blood or gall,[2][7] and is mostly poetic.[7] Lucretius has glue made from bulls, Virgil a bull's hide (taurīnum tergum) and the river Eridanus with horns on a bull's face, and Ovid a bull's forehead;[7][8] Pliny the Elder uses it of bull's blood, gall and dung in remedies.[7][3] From the sense “of oxhide” it was used of drums: Statius has drum-beats and Claudian Phrygian drums.[2][7][9]

In late texts the feminine taurīna is used as a noun, for beef in the Iudicium coci et pistoris[3] and for an oxhide shoe in Diocletian's price edict.[8] Medieval Latin kept the sense “of or like a bull”: the Liber monstrorum gives the Minotaur a bull's head.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of bellows of oxhide.[2][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius has glue made from bulls.[7][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil has a bull's hide.[7][8][6]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of bull's blood and gall.[7][6]
  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius uses it of drum-beats.[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or derived from a bull or ox, bull's.[2][7]
  2. Made of oxhide.[2][8]

Noun

  1. (Late Latin, feminine taurīna) beef; a shoe of oxhide.[3][8]

Usage notes

A separate adjective Taurīnus means “of the Taurini”, a Ligurian people of Cisalpine Gaul; in their territory Augustus founded the colony Augusta Taurinorum, modern Turin.[2][3][8] Köbler suggests a Celtic origin for the tribal name.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  10. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Taurinus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/taurinus. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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