tarantula
[ tuh-ran-chuh-luh ]
/ təˈræn tʃə lə /
noun, plural ta·ran·tu·las, ta·ran·tu·lae [tuh-ran-chuh-lee] /təˈræn tʃəˌli/.
any of several large, hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae, as Aphonopelma chalcodes, of the southwestern U.S., having a painful but not highly venomous bite.
any of various related spiders.
a large wolf spider, Lycosa tarantula, of southern Europe, having a bite once thought to be the cause of tarantism.
RELATED CONTENT
What word do scientists use to describe the most ginormous star ever discovered?If you find something that’s bigger than you thought was physically possible, how would you describe it? You start with what you already have, which is R136a1, the equivalent of a cosmic ZIP code. The R stands for Radcliffe Observatory, which located the star in the first place (long before anyone knew its immensity.) Massive isn’t the same thing as “big” in astronomy. Mass is roughly equivalent …
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- tarantass,
- tarantella,
- tarantino,
- tarantism,
- taranto,
- tarantula nebula,
- tarapoto,
- tararua biscuit,
- tarascan,
- tarasco
Origin of tarantula
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for tarantula
tarantula
/ (təˈræntjʊlə) /
noun plural -las or -lae (-ˌliː)
any of various large hairy mostly tropical spiders of the American family Theraphosidae
a large hairy spider, Lycosa tarentula of S Europe, the bite of which was formerly thought to cause tarantism
Word Origin for tarantula
C16: from Medieval Latin, from Old Italian tarantola, from Taranto
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
tarantula
1560s, "wolf spider," (Lycos tarantula), from Medieval Latin tarantula, from Italian tarantola, from Taranto "Taranto," seaport city in southern Italy in the region where the spiders are frequently found, from Latin Tarentum, from Greek Taras (genitive Tarantos; perhaps from Illyrian darandos "oak"). Its bite is only slightly poisonous. Popularly applied to other great hairy spiders, especially the genus Mygale, native to the warmer regions of the Americas (first so called in 1794).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
tarantula
[ tə-răn′chə-lə ]
n. pl. ta•ran•tu•las
Any of various large, hairy, chiefly tropical spiders of the family Theraphosidae, capable of inflicting a painful but not seriously poisonous bite.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.