Centaur

centaur (sĕn`tôr), in Greek mythology, creature, half man and half horse. The centaurs were fathered by Ixion or by Centaurus, who was Ixion's son. Followers of Dionysus, they were uncouth and savage, but some, such as Chiron, became friends and teachers of men. Their half-brothers, the Lapiths, engaged them in a battle that was described by Ovid, depicted on the Parthenon, and sculpted by Michelangelo.

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centaur

In Greek mythology, one of a race of creatures, part horse and part man, living in the mountains of Thessaly and Arcadia. They were best known for their battle with the Lapiths, occasioned by their attempt to carry off the bride of a Lapith prince. Centaurs were often depicted drawing Dionysus' chariot or ridden by Eros, in reference to their drunken and amorous habits. Their king Chiron, however, was notable for being civilized, gentle, and the tutor of heroes.

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Centaur

(Centaur Technology, Inc., Austin, TX) A subsidiary of Integrated Devices Technology (IDT) founded in 1995 by Glenn Henry. In 1997, it introduced the WinChip, a Pentium MMX-class CPU chip for the low-end market that never caught on. Centaur's designs and the WinChip were acquired by Via Technologies, Inc. (www.viatech.com) in 1999. See WinChip.

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centaur

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

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centaur

beast that is half-horse, half-man. [Gk. Myth.: Mercatante, 201–202]

See : Horse

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Centaur

a stage used in the Atlas-C and Titan-3E American launch vehicles. The Centaur weighs about 17 tons and has two liquid-propellant rocket engines that produce a total thrust of 136 kilonewtons. Liquid hydrogen was used as a fuel for the first time in the Centaur. The first successful flight of a Centaur occurred in 1963.