Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Bucentaur
BUCENTAUR, a mythical monster,
half man and half ox. The splendid
galley in which the Doge of Venice
annually wedded the Adriatic bore this
name, doubtless because of the figure
of a bucentaur on her bow. Three
ships were built for this ceremony,
enjoined by Pope Alexander III., and all
bore a bucentaur figure-head; and the
last one was destroyed by the French in
1798.