Matador - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

'MATADOR, a Spanish word meaning literally "killer," from y natar, Lat. mactare, especially applied to the principal performer in a bull-fight, whose function it is to slay the bull '(see Bullfighting). The word is also used of certain important cards in such games as quadrille, ombre, &c., and more particularly of a special form of the game of dominoes.