Standard Lemma guide

taurobolium

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The ritual slaughter of a bull.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Ancient-Rome, historical

Examples

  • 1968, Phoenix, Volume 22, Classical Association of Canada, University of Toronto Press, page 236, It is safe to conclude that the taurobolium at this stage in its development was a substitution rite33 at least in its original and most basic purpose, although it may soon have become an initiatory rite for women.
  • 1990, Britt-Mari Näsström, O Mother of the Gods and Men, Plus Ultra, page 42, In addition to the gloomy figure of Attis, another spectacular element was connected to the cult of Magna Mater, the rite of the Taurobolium and the Criobolium.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin taurobolium, from Ancient Greek ταυροβόλιον (taurobólion).

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: tauroboli — ritual slaughter of a bull
  • French: taurobole — ritual slaughter of a bull