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tarantism
[ tar-uhn-tiz-uhm ]
noun
- a mania characterized by an uncontrollable impulse to dance, especially as prevalent in southern Italy from the 15th to the 17th century, popularly attributed to the bite of the tarantula.
tarantism
/ ˈtærənˌtɪzəm /
noun
- a nervous disorder marked by uncontrollable bodily movement, widespread in S Italy during the 15th to 17th centuries: popularly thought to be caused by the bite of a tarantula
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Other Words From
- tarant·ist noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of tarantism1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of tarantism1
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Example Sentences
The Tarantism so common in Italy from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century is another example of epidemic hysteria.
What could account so entirely for his ways and actions as that strange poisoning which produces the state they call Tarantism?
This form of "possession," then, passed out of the supernatural domain, and became known as "tarantism."
One of the best known of these diseases is 'Tarantism,' or the frenzy produced by the bite of the Tarantula, in Italy.
At the close of the fifteenth century Tarantism had spread beyond the borders of Apulia.
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