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.