Mystery-Cult Etymology

When I was a kid, I read tales of Centaurs (half-horse, half-man) and Minotaurs (half-bull, half-man) and assumed they had something (other than Greece) in common. Foolishly, all throughout my youngness, I assumed "-taur" must mean "half-man". How very silly of me.

These days, I understand the Harryhausenian tales of my youth a bit better. I know that the Minotaurs roots are "Minos" and "Taurus" - it was, after all, the Bull in the labyrinth of King Minos.

Yet, applying the same logic to the other creature just didn't seem to work. Centaurs aren't bulls, they're horses! Then I realized, it's just a case of the doubled "t" being dropped. Cent-taur. I now see that the name was intended to let us know that the original story was merely a parable or metaphor. It wasn't a true tale about real creatures. Instead, it was 100% bull.


P.S.: Don't confuse Etymology with Entomology. They sound similar, but mean totally different things. One's about bull-centipede crossbreeds, the other is about those tree-guys in Lord of the Rings.