What is "taurus"

Sign \Sign\, n. [F. signe, L. signum; cf. AS. segen, segn, a sign, standard, banner, also fr. L. signum. Cf. Ensign, Resign, Seal a stamp, Signal, Signet.] That by which anything is made known or represented; that which furnishes evidence; a mark; a token; an indication; a proof. Specifically:

1. A remarkable event, considered by the ancients as indicating the will of some deity; a prodigy; an omen.

2. An event considered by the Jews as indicating the divine will, or as manifesting an interposition of the divine power for some special end; a miracle; a wonder.

   Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.
   --Rom. xv. 19.

   It shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
   --Ex. iv. 8.

3. Something serving to indicate the existence, or preserve the memory, of a thing; a token; a memorial; a monument.

   What time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign.
   --Num. xxvi. 10.

4. Any symbol or emblem which prefigures, typifles, or represents, an idea; a type; hence, sometimes, a picture.

   The holy symbols, or signs, are not barely significative; but what they represent is as certainly delivered to us as the symbols themselves.
   --Brerewood.

   Saint George of Merry England, the sign of victory.
   --Spenser.

5. A word or a character regarded as the outward manifestation of thought; as, words are the sign of ideas.

6. A motion, an action, or a gesture by which a thought is expressed, or a command or a wish made known.

   They made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
   --Luke i. 62.

7. Hence, one of the gestures of pantomime, or of a language of a signs such as those used by the North American Indians, or those used by the deaf and dumb.

   Note: Educaters of the deaf distinguish between natural signs, which serve for communicating ideas, and methodical, or systematic, signs, adapted for the dictation, or the rendering, of written language, word by word; and thus the signs are to be distinguished from the manual alphabet, by which words are spelled on the fingers.

8. A military emblem carried on a banner or a standard.
   --Milton.

9. A lettered board, or other conspicuous notice, placed upon or before a building, room, shop, or office to advertise the business there transacted, or the name of the person or firm carrying it on; a publicly displayed token or notice.

   The shops were, therefore, distinguished by painted signs, which gave a gay and grotesque aspect to the streets.
   --Macaulay.

10. (Astron.) The twelfth part of the ecliptic or zodiac.

    Note: The signs are reckoned from the point of intersection of the ecliptic and equator at the vernal equinox, and are named, respectively, Aries ([Aries]), Taurus ([Taurus]), Gemini (II), Cancer ([Cancer]), Leo ([Leo]), Virgo ([Virgo]), Libra ([Libra]), Scorpio ([Scorpio]), Sagittarius ([Sagittarius]), Capricornus ([Capricorn]), {Aquarius ([Aquarius]), Pisces ([Pisces]). These names were originally the names of the constellations occupying severally the divisions of the zodiac, by which they are still retained; but, in consequence of the procession of the equinoxes, the signs have, in process of time, become separated about 30 degrees from these constellations, and each of the latter now lies in the sign next in advance, or to the east of the one which bears its name, as the constellation Aries in the sign Taurus, etc.

11. (Alg.) A character indicating the relation of quantities, or an operation performed upon them; as, the sign + (plus); the sign -- (minus); the sign of division /, and the like.

12. (Med.) An objective evidence of disease; that is, one appreciable by some one other than the patient.

    Note: The terms symptom and and sign are often used synonymously; but they may be discriminated. A sign differs from a symptom in that the latter is perceived only by the patient himself. The term sign is often further restricted to the purely local evidences of disease afforded by direct examination of the organs involved, as distinguished from those evidence of general disturbance afforded by observation of the temperature, pulse, etc. In this sense it is often called physical sign.

13. (Mus.) Any character, as a flat, sharp, dot, etc.

14. (Theol.) That which, being external, stands for, or signifies, something internal or spiritual; -- a term used in the Church of England in speaking of an ordinance considered with reference to that which it represents. An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. --Bk. of Common Prayer. Note: See the Table of Arbitrary Signs, p. 1924. Sign manual.

    1. (Eng. Law) The royal signature superscribed at the top of bills of grants and letter patent, which are then sealed with the privy signet or great seal, as the case may be, to complete their validity.

    2. The signature of one's name in one's own handwriting.
       --Craig. Tomlins. Wharton.

       Syn: Token; mark; note; symptom; indication; signal; symbol; type; omen; prognostic; presage; manifestation. See Emblem.

Taurus \Tau"rus\ (t[add]"r[u^]s), n. [L., akin to Gr. tay^ros, and E. steer. See Steer a young ox.]

1. (Astron.)

   1. The Bull; the second in order of the twelve signs of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 20th of April; -- marked thus [[taurus]] in almanacs.

   2. A zodiacal constellation, containing the well-known clusters called the Pleiades and the Hyades, in the latter of which is situated the remarkably bright Aldebaran.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A genus of ruminants comprising the common domestic cattle.

zodiac constellation, late Old English, from Latin taurus "bull, bullock, steer," also the name of the constellation, from PIE *tau-ro- "bull" (cognates: Greek tauros, Old Church Slavonic turu "bull, steer;" Lithuanian tauras "aurochs;" Old Prussian tauris "bison"); from PIE *tauro- "bull," from root *(s)taeu- "stout, standing, strong" (cognates: Sanskrit sthura- "thick, compact," Avestan staora- "big cattle," Middle Persian stor "horse, draft animal," Gothic stiur "young bull," Old English steor, see steer (n.)); extended form of root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).\n

\nKlein proposes a Semitic origin (compare Aramaic tora "ox, bull, steer," Hebrew shor, Arabic thor, Ethiopian sor). Meaning "person born under the sign of the bull" is recorded from 1901.\n\nAt midnight revels when the gossips met,\n
He was the theme of their eternal chat:\n
This ask'd what form great Jove would next devise,\n
And when his godship would again Taurise?\n

[William Somerville, "The Wife," 1727]

Taurus is Latin for "Bull" and may refer to:

• Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac
• Bull (mythology), the mythological references around Taurus
• Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign
• Bos taurus, a species of cattle
• Taurus cattle, a breed of cattle
• Operation Taurus, a planned prosecution against Irish politician Martin McGuinness

Taurus ( Latin for "the Bull"; symbol: , Unicode: ♉) is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the mythologies of Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

A number of features exist that are of interest to astronomers. Taurus hosts two of the nearest open clusters to Earth, the Pleiades and the Hyades, both of which are visible to the naked eye. At first magnitude, the red giant Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation. In the northwest part of Taurus is the supernova remnant Messier 1, more commonly known as the Crab Nebula. One of the closest regions of active star formation, the Taurus-Auriga complex, crosses into the northern part of the constellation. The variable star T Tauri is the prototype of a class of pre-main-sequence stars.

Forjas Taurus is a manufacturing conglomerate based in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Founded as a tool and die manufacturer, the company now consists of divisions focusing on firearms, metals manufacturing, plastics, body armor, helmets, and civil construction.

Taurus was a female Crunk&B trio–consisting of Doma, Notation & Jazz–that became slightly known for their heavily Salt-N-Pepa-influenced debut single " Taurus Here" in 2005. In January 2006, the trio made their first public television appearances on the now-defunct musical series, Showtime at the Apollo and Soul Train, to perform their single, "Taurus Here".

In 2007, the group was requested by the New Jersey Nets to sing the National Anthem. That same year, the group released another single titled, "Get Out My Bed", which featured production by Mr. Collipark and guest rap verses from rapper, Hurricane Chris. By the year's end, Taurus had departed from their label, Landmine Entertainment, and their self-titled debut album was shelved.

Taurus (Transfer and Automated Registration of Uncertified Stock) was a program that set out to transfer the London Stock Exchange from paper communication to an automated system. Taurus was implemented with the hopes of reducing time taken and cost, increasing convenience and meeting political expectations.

It was started in the 1980s and at the time several systems were up and running that achieved this goal but Taurus was to be bigger and better. The problem was that they had no concise scope, resulting in scope creep and cost overrun. Taurus eventually cost £75 million and was replaced with CREST.

With seventeen proposed systems, the designers behind Taurus tried to merge the ideas of the people involved, creating a Frankenstein's monster that reaped damages of £500 million. The Sunday Times described its failure to build the system as "the beginning of the end for the London Stock Exchange."

The project was abandoned in March 1993.

Taurus is the name of different characters in Marvel Comics.

Taurus (, translit. Telets) is a 2001 Russian biographical drama film directed by Alexander Sokurov, portraying Vladimir Lenin. It was entered into the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

Flavius Taurus (died 449) was a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire, Consul in 428.

He was the son of Aurelianus, Consul in 400 and powerful Praetorian prefect of the East, and nephew of the Taurus Consul in 361. His son, Taurus Clementinus Armonius Clementinus, was consul in 513.

As his father, his grandfather and his uncle Flavius Eutychianus before him, he was Consul, in 428, and Praetorian prefect ( of the East); he had also the rank of patricius between 433 and 434.

Flavius Taurus (fl. 355–361) was a politician and a military officer of the Roman Empire.

According to traditional Chinese uranography, the modern constellation Taurus is located within the western quadrant of the sky, which is symbolized as the White Tiger of the West (北方玄武, Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ).

The name of the western constellation in modern Chinese is 金牛座 (jīn niú zuò), meaning "the golden bull constellation".

"Taurus" is a rock instrumental by American rock band Spirit, originally released on their self-titled debut album in 1968. The track, composed by guitarist/ singer Randy California, was recorded in November 1967. It has been alleged that Jimmy Page borrowed the descending guitar figure from "Taurus" for Led Zeppelin's signature tune " Stairway to Heaven". Led Zeppelin opened for Spirit in an early American tour, providing the possibility that Led Zeppelin had heard the Spirit song before "Stairway to Heaven" was written. In the liner notes to the 1996 reissue of Spirit's debut album, songwriter Randy California writes:

People always ask me why "Stairway to Heaven" sounds exactly like "Taurus", which was released two years earlier. I know Led Zeppelin also played "Fresh Garbage" in their live set. They opened up for us on their first American tour.

In May 2014, an attorney hired by Randy California's estate announced plans to file a copyright infringement suit that will seek a co-writing credit for California on "Stairway to Heaven." In April 2016, district judge Gary Klausner ruled that there were sufficient similarities between the songs that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (who is credited as co-writer of "Stairway to Heaven") would stand trial by jury for copyright infringement. The trial began on June 14, 2016. On June 15, 2016, Jimmy Page spent hours on the witness stand testifying. The trial concluded June 23, 2016 with the jury finding that Led Zeppelin was not guilty of plagiarism.