centaur

UK: /ˈsɛntɔː^r/ US: /ˈsɛntɔr/ ,(sen′tôr)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

cen•taur /ˈsɛntɔr/   n. [countable]

1. Mythology a race of creatures in Greek myth having the head, chest, and arms of a man, and the body and legs of a horse.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cen•taur  (sen′tôr), n. 

1. Mythology [Class. Myth.] one of a race of monsters having the head, trunk, and arms of a man, and the body and legs of a horse.
2. Astronomy (cap.) the constellation Centaurus.
3. a skillful horseman or horsewoman.
4. Rocketry (cap.) a U.S. upper stage, with a restartable liquid-propellant engine, used with an Atlas or Titan booster to launch satellites and probes.

• Greek kéntauros
• Latin centaurus
• Middle English, Old English 1325–75

cen•tau′ri•al, cen•tau′ri•an, cen•tau′ric, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

centaur / ˈsɛntɔː/ noun

1. one of a race of creatures with the head, arms, and torso of a man, and the lower body and legs of a horse
   Also called: hippocentaur

Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin, from Greek kentauros, of unknown origin