definitions

arachnid

[ uh-rak-nid ]
/ əˈræk nɪd /
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noun

any wingless, carnivorous arthropod of the class Arachnida, including spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, and daddy-longlegs, having a body divided into two parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen, and having eight appendages and no antennae.Compare insect.

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the arachnids.

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RELATED WORDS

tick, mite, tarantula, scorpion, harvestman

Nearby words

arachidic, arachidic acid, arachidonic acid, arachis oil, arachne, arachnid, arachnida, arachnidism, arachnodactyly, arachnoid, arachnoid cyst

Origin of arachnid

1865–70; < New Latin Arachnida < Greek aráchn(ē) spider, spider's web + New Latin -ida -ida
Related formsa·rach·ni·dan [uh-rak-ni-duh n] /əˈræk nɪ dən/, adjective, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for arachnid

British Dictionary definitions for arachnid

arachnid

/ (əˈræknɪd) /

noun

any terrestrial chelicerate arthropod of the class Arachnida, characterized by simple eyes and four pairs of legs. The group includes the spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, and harvestmen
Derived Formsarachnidan, adjective, noun

Word Origin for arachnid

C19: from New Latin Arachnida, 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

Word Origin and History for arachnid

arachnid

n.

"a spider," 1869, from French arachnide (1806) or Modern Latin Arachnida, introduced as name for this class of arthropods 1815 by French biologist Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de Lamarck (1744-1829), from Greek arakhne (fem.) "spider; spider's web," which probably is cognate with Latin aranea "spider, spider's web" (borrowed in Old English as renge "spider"), from aracsna. The Latin word could be a Greek borrowing or both could be from a common root. An earlier noun form was arachnidian (1828).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Science definitions for arachnid

arachnid

[ ə-răk′nĭd ]

Any of various arthropods of the class Arachnida, such as spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks. Arthropods are characterized by four pairs of segmented legs and a body that is divided into two regions, the cephalothorax and the abdomen.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.