taurus Latin · revision 5430

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=Plautus|origins=itc-pro *tauro-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈtau̯.rʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtaːu̯.rus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''taurus''' ''m'' (genitive taurī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*tauro-|t=bull]], usually traced to [[ine-pro|*táwros|t=bull]], which is probably from a non-Indo-European source.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Cognate with [[xum|turuf|t=bulls]], [[sga|tarb|t=bull]], [[cy|tarw|t=bull]], [[grc|ταῦρος|tr=taûros|t=bull]] and [[lt|taũras|t=aurochs]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) De Vaan notes that Latin does not show the change of *-aur- to *-arw- seen in [[parvus]], which might mean that it is a later loanword.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus.^(de Vaan 2008) Ennius speaks of taming the strength of bulls.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was a bull, often as a sacrificial victim, as when Cicero tells of a bull being sacrificed.^(OLD 2012) It was also the constellation Taurus, a kind of beetle, a bird that bellows like an ox, perhaps the bittern, and the bronze bull of Phalaris.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) ''Taurus'' was a Roman cognomen, as of Statilius Taurus.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ The name of the mountain range Taurus in Asia Minor is Greek and only accidentally the same.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) In medieval Britain ''lībertās taurī'' was a manor's right to let a bull roam.^(DMLBS) [[en|Taurus]], the zodiac sign, goes back to it.^(Etymonline) It survives in [[it|toro]], [[fr|taureau]] and [[es|toro]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius speaks of taming the strength of bulls.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro dates the first day of summer by the Bull.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * Middle English – ''Taur'' is used of the zodiac sign.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|bull]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # The constellation [[m|en|Taurus]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # A kind of beetle; a bird, perhaps the [[m|en|bittern]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # The bronze bull of Phalaris.^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[taura]]

+ * [[taurārius]]

+ * [[taureus]]

+ * [[tauricornis]]

+ * [[taurifer]]

+ * [[taurifōrmis]]

+ * [[taurigenus]]

+ * [[taurīnus]]

+ * [[taurulus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vacca]]

+ * [[en|Taurus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}