Taur

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A thick, dark, sticky substance distilled from wood or coal, known in Scots dialect by this older form
2. The dark, viscous pitch-like material used to seal boats and roads, as named in traditional Scottish speech
3. A sticky black residue obtained from distilling wood or coal, referred to in some Scots dialects

Etymology: The Greek "taûros" simply meant "bull", and it descends from the Proto-Indo-European "*táwros". English "steer", a young bull or ox, comes from the same ancestor by a separate route, so the two are doublets. Here the Greek root reaches English through a different path, and the form "taur" is recorded as a clipping of "centaur", the mythical creature that was part horse and part man, though the link between that creature and the sticky black substance is not explained.

Synonyms: aurochs, wild ox