tarantella

[ tar-uhn-tel-uh ]

/ ˌtær ənˈtɛl ə /

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noun

a rapid, whirling southern Italian dance in very quick sextuple, originally quadruple, meter, usually performed by a single couple, and formerly supposed to be a remedy for tarantism.

a piece of music either for the dance or in its rhythm.

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Origin of tarantella

1775–85; <Italian, equivalent to Tarant(o) Taranto + -ella-elle

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH tarantella

tarantella , tarantula

Words nearby tarantella

Taranaki, Taranaki gate, Taranaki wind, tar and feather, tarantass, tarantella, Tarantino, tarantism, Taranto, tarantula, Tarantula nebula

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use tarantella in a sentence

The effect miraculous; danced Tarantella till the bandage came off and he fainted.
Tony Butler|Charles James Lever
She dances the Tarantella now—by-and-by she will dance to another tune!
Mr Punch's Pocket Ibsen - A Collection of Some of the Master's Best Known Dramas|F. Anstey
It was the famous tarantella dance which the people of Southern Italy love so much.
The Sunbonnet Babies in Italy|Eulalie Osgood Grover
Making an effort to stem it, she recalled her happiness with Maurice after that day of the Tarantella.
A Spirit in Prison|Robert Hichens

Her Sicilian and his tarantella, the tarantella of his joy in Sicily—they had gone away into the blue.
The Call of the Blood|Robert Smythe Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for tarantella

tarantella

/ (ˌtærənˈtɛlə) /

noun

a peasant dance from S Italy

a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance, in fast six-eight time

Word Origin for tarantella

C18: from Italian, from Taranto Taranto; associated with tarantism

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