tauro-, taur-, tauri- +

(Greek > Latin: bull, steer)

Minotaur
1. In Greek mythology, a monster with the body of a man and head of a bull which lived in the Cretan labyrinth and was fed human sacrifices (young Athenian men and women) until it was killed by Theseus.
2. Also applied to any person or thing that devours or destroys.
3. Etymology: from Greek minotauros, from Minos, king of Crete plus tauros, "bull". A flesh-eating monster half man, half bull; son of Pasiphæ, wife of Minos, and a bull.
taurian
Referring to a bull.
tauricide
1. Killing bulls or steers.
2. A killer of a bull or a steer.
Taurids
A collection of meteors constituting a meteor shower visible during the period of October 26 to November 16 and having its apparent origin in the constellation Taurus.

Because of the gravitational effect of planets, especially Jupiter, the Taurids have spread out over time, allowing separate segments labeled the Northern Taurids and Southern Taurids to become observable.

tauriform
1. Bull like or similarity to a bull.
2. Shaped like a bull, or the head or horns, of a bull.
taurine (adjective), more taurine, most taurine
1. Pertaining to, or resembling a bull: In the game of pantomime at the birthday party, Jack assumed a bovine or taurine pose for the others to guess!
2. Referring to bull-fighting: Taurine contests involve people and animals in an attempt to physically subdue the animal, or even kill it, and is accomplished by certain rules or in the way the culture in that particular country uses.
3. Relating to the zodiacal sign Taurus: In the celestial sphere, the taurine figure in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere close to Orion and Aries is said to influence people born between April 21 and May 22.
4. Etymology: from Greek tauros, "bull"; from Latin taurinus "bull" + the chemical suffix -ine, because it was first found in ox bile which aids in the digestion of fats in the duodenum.
Pertaining to a bull.
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taurobolium (s), taurobolia (pl)
1. The sacrifice of a bull, followed by the baptism of neophytes in its blood, as practiced in the ancient rites of Mithras or Cybele.
2. A representation of the killing of a bull, as in Mithraic art.
tauroboly
1. The slaughter of a bull or bulls; specifically, a pagan sacrifice of a bull in honor of Cybele, with its attendant rites, including a bath in bulls' blood.
2. The representation of such a slaughter or sacrifice in sculpture, etc.
taurocephalous
1. A bull's head.
2. In the shape of a bull's head.
tauroctony
An artistic depiction of the mythic hero and ancient religious savior Mithras engaged in the ritual slaying of a bull.

The literal act of sacrifice is known as taurobolium.

Ritual slaying of a bull by Mithras.
As seen in The British Museum, London, England.

Mithras is identified as a Persian god in the Zoroastrian tradition and Persian mythology. He was the god of light, truth, and goodness. He is often shown with a bull, which he is said to have slain before fertilizing the world with its blood.

Mithras was the nominal object of devotion in a Greco-Roman mystery religion of late antiquity. Mithras is the development of Greco-Roman syncretic beliefs (union, or attempted fusion, of different systems of thoughts or beliefs; especially, in religion or philosophy), and the name simply reflects the high regard that the Greeks held for the figure of Zoroaster.

tauroesque (adjective), more tauroesque, most tauroesque
Characterized by, or resembling, a bull, as in appearance or manner.
taurokathapsia
A bull fight as depicted in pre-Hellenic art.
taurolatry
The worship of a bull.
Worshipers are bowing down to a golden bull which is a form of taurolatry.
Word Info image © Copyright, 2006.
tauromachy (s) (noun), tauromachies (pl)
The practice or custom of bull-fighting; a bull fight.
tauromorphic
A reference to, or characterized, by the form of a bull.

Related "bovine; cow, ox, bull" word units: bou-; bovo-; ox-; vaccino-.