Arachne

[ uh-rak-nee ]

/ əˈræk ni /

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noun Classical Mythology.

a Lydian woman who challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was changed into a spider for her presumption.

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Words nearby Arachne

Araçatuba, araceous, arachidic, arachidic acid, arachidonic acid, Arachne, arachnid, Arachnida, arachnidism, arachnodactyly, arachnoid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Arachne in a sentence

All around were amazed, and trembled before the glorious Minerva, except the angry Arachne.
'Round the Year in Myth and Song|Florence Holbrook
All the beholders saw that Minerva had surpassed Arachne, and felt that the proud girl must be punished for her pride and impiety.
'Round the Year in Myth and Song|Florence Holbrook
But Arachne still thought she could excel the goddess in weaving, and, as Minerva said no more, the contest began.
'Round the Year in Myth and Song|Florence Holbrook
Arachne showed Leda and the swan, and Europa and the bull, with such fidelity to nature that they seemed to move and breathe.
'Round the Year in Myth and Song|Florence Holbrook

But Arachne only grew bolder, and said openly that she would not be afraid to challenge the goddess to a contest.
Stories of Old Greece and Rome|Emilie Kip Baker

British Dictionary definitions for Arachne

Arachne

/ (əˈræknɪ) /

noun

Greek myth a maiden changed into a spider for having presumptuously challenged Athena to a weaving contest

Word Origin for Arachne

from Greek arakhnē spider

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012