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centaur

   Also found in: Medical, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
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.

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

centaur [ˈsɛntɔː]
n
(Myth & Legend / Classical Myth & Legend) Greek myth one of a race of creatures with the head, arms, and torso of a man, and the lower body and legs of a horse
[from Latin, from Greek kentauros, of unknown origin]

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.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.centaur - (classical mythology) a mythical being that is half man and half horsecentaur - (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
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
Translations
centaur [ˈsentɔːʳ] Ncentauro m
centaur [ˈsɛntɔːr] ncentaure m
centaur
nZentaur m
centaur [ˈsɛntɔːʳ] ncentauro


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On the same principle, even if a writer in his poetic imitation were to combine all metres, as Chaeremon did in his Centaur, which is a medley composed of metres of all kinds, we should bring him too under the general term poet.
This has been figuratively taught to princes by ancient writers, who describe how Achilles and many other princes of old were given to the Centaur Chiron to nurse, who brought them up in his discipline; which means solely that, as they had for a teacher one who was half beast and half man, so it is necessary for a prince to know how to make use of both natures, and that one without the other is not durable.
Hence those strange monsters in lace and embroidery, in silks and brocades, with vast wigs and hoops; which, under the name of lords and ladies, strut the stage, to the great delight of attorneys and their clerks in the pit, and of the citizens and their apprentices in the galleries; and which are no more to be found in real life than the centaur, the chimera, or any other creature of mere fiction.
 
 
 
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