tarantula
tarantula Lexical Profile
tarantula Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A large, typically hairy spider of the family Theraphosidae, found chiefly in tropical, subtropical, and arid regions of the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
"The zookeeper carefully held the tarantula, explaining to the fascinated students how it uses its urticating hairs as a defense mechanism."
European A large wolf spider native to southern Europe, historically believed to inflict a bite that caused a dancing mania known as tarantism.
"In traditional Italian folklore, peasants believed the venom of the local tarantula could only be sweated out by dancing the frenzied steps of the tarantella."
Word Origin & Etymology
From Medieval Latin 'tarantula', derived from Taranto, a town in southern Italy. It originally referred to the European wolf spider native to the region, whose bite was mythically believed to cause a dancing mania called tarantism, before the name was transferred to the large, hairy spiders of the Americas.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.