centaur (redirected from Centaurs)

cen·taur  (sntôr)

n. Greek Mythology

One of a race of monsters having the head, arms, and trunk of a man and the body and legs of a horse.

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[Middle English, from Latin Centaurus, from Greek Kentauros.]

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centaur

Noun

Greek myth a creature with the head, arms, and torso of a man, and the lower body and legs of a horse [Greek kentauros]

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Centaur  (sntôr)

Any of a group of icy bodies similar to both asteroids and comets, orbiting the Sun in elliptical paths mostly in the region between Saturn and Neptune. Centaurs range in diameter from around 100 to 400 km (62 to 248 mi) and are believed to be Kuiper belt objects that have escaped into the vicinity of the gas-giant planets. Centaurs are considered to have unstable orbits, and gravitational encounters with the large outer planets could send them into the inner solar system or alternatively could eject them from the solar system into interstellar space. Chiron, the first such body to be classified as a Centaur, was discovered in 1977.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	centaur - (classical mythology) a mythical being that is half man and half horse classical mythology - the system of mythology of the Greeks and Romans together; much of Roman mythology (especially the gods) was borrowed from the Greeks mythical creature, mythical monster - a monster renowned in folklore and myth Chiron - (Greek mythology) the learned centaur who tutored Achilles, Asclepius, Hercules, Jason, and other heroes
	2.	Centaur - a conspicuous constellation in the southern hemisphere near the Southern Cross Centaurus Alpha Centauri, Rigil, Rigil Kent - brightest star in Centaurus; second nearest star to the sun Beta Centauri - the second brightest star in Centaurus Omega Centauri - a global cluster in the constellation Centaurus Proxima, Proxima Centauri - the nearest star to the sun; distance: 4.3 light years