English
taurine
Taurine comes from Latin taurīnus ‘bulls, oxen’, from taurus ‘bull’, and ultimately from Proto-Semitic *ṯawr-.
- Proto-Semiticc. 4000–3000 BCE*ṯawr-‘bull, ox’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*táwros‘wild bull, aurochs’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tauros‘bull’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtaurus‘bull’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtaurīnus‘bulls, oxen’
- Englishearliest quotation 1820taurine
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Semiticc. 4000–3000 BCE*ṯawr-‘bull, ox’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*táwros‘wild bull, aurochs’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tauros‘bull’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtaurus‘bull’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtaurīnus‘bulls, oxen’
- Englishearliest quotation 1820taurine
Earliest quotation: 1820, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oedipus Tyrannus; Or: “I am the Ionian Minotaur, the mightiest Of all…”
Every English word from Proto-Semitic *ṯawr-
Today it means
adj Pertaining to a bull; bull-like.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Semitic *ṯawr- / taurine