taurs

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *tew-, *tu- (“to swell”), with a suffix *-ro. The meaning evolution was probably: “swollen” → “fat; having a well-developed body” → “strong (animal)” → “aurochs.” Some researches believe this word to be a borrowing from Semitic into Indo-European, but many others disagree with that opinion. Cognates include Lithuanian taũras, Old Prussian tauris, Old Church Slavonic тоуръ (turŭ), Russian тур (tur, “aurochs”), Ancient Greek ταῦρος (taûros), Latin taurus (“bull”).^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tàurs], IPA^(key): [tāūrs]

Noun

taurs m (1st declension)

1. aurochs (Bos primigenitus, the extinct ancestor of domestic cattle)

   vietvārdi pierāda, ka mūsu mežos kādreiz mituši tauri ― placenames show that there once lived aurochs in our forests

References