Bucephalus
nounEtymology Borrowed from Latin Būcephalus, from Ancient Greek Βουκέφαλος, Βουκεφάλας (Bouképhalos, Boukephálas), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”) + κεφᾰλή (kephălḗ, “head”) + -ᾱς (-ās).
1
Humorous Any horse used for riding.
- the Bucephalus which he bestrode1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:
2
Figuratively, Obsolete That which is the greatest of its kind.
- It will suffice to say that when I started on my journey into the realms of lexicography, I regarded Kʻang Hsi as a Bucephalus on whose tail — 蠅附龭尾 — a foreign fly might safely get an advantageous lift.1892, Herbert A. Giles, A Chinese–English Dictionary, 1st edition: