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tarantula
6 dictionary results for: Tarantula
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ta·ran·tu·la 
[tuh-ran-chuh-luh] Pronunciation Key
[tuh-ran-chuh-luh] Pronunciation Key –noun, plural -las, -lae
[-lee] Pronunciation Key.
[-lee] Pronunciation Key. | 1. | 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. |
| 2. | any of various related spiders. |
| 3. | a large wolf spider, Lycosa tarantula, of southern Europe, having a bite once thought to be the cause of tarantism. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| ta·ran·tu·la
(tə-rān'chə-lə) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. ta·ran·tu·las or tarantu·lae (-lē')
[Medieval Latin, from Old Italian tarantola, after Taranto.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tarantula
tarantula
1561, "wolf spider," (Lycos tarantula), from M.L. tarantula, from It. tarantola, from Taranto "Taranto," seaport city in southern Italy in the region where the spiders are frequently found, from L. Tarentum, from Gk. Taras (gen. Tarantos). 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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| tarantula | |
noun | |
| 1. | large southern European spider once thought to be the cause of tarantism (uncontrollable bodily movement) [syn: European wolf spider] |
| 2. | large hairy tropical spider with fangs that can inflict painful but not highly venomous bites |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tarantula ta·ran·tu·la (tə-rān'chə-lə)
n. pl. ta·ran·tu·las or ta·ran·tu·lae (-lē')
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.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Tarantula
Ta*ran"tu*la\, n.; pl. E. Tarantulas, L. Tarantul[ae]. [NL., fr. It. tarantola, fr. L. Tarentum, now Taranto, in the south of Italy.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of large spiders, popularly supposed to be very venomous, especially the European species (Tarantula apuli[ae]). The tarantulas of Texas and adjacent countries are large species of Mygale. [Written also tarentula.] Tarantula killer, a very large wasp (Pompilus formosus), which captures the Texan tarantula (Mygale Hentzii) and places it in its nest as food for its young, after paralyzing it by a sting.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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