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tarantula

Pronunciation: /təˈrantjʊlə/

Definition of tarantula

noun

  • 1a very large hairy spider found chiefly in tropical and subtropical America, some kinds of which are able to catch small lizards, frogs, and birds. Also called bird-eating spider.
    • Family Theraphosidae, suborder Mygalomorphae
  • 2a large black wolf spider of southern Europe, whose bite was formerly believed to cause tarantism.
    • Lycosa tarentula, family Lycosidae

Origin:

mid 16th century: from medieval Latin, from Old Italian tarantola 'tarantula', from the name of the seaport Taranto. Compare with tarantella and tarantism

tarantula in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of tarantula in the US English dictionary