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6 results for: tarantism

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
tar·ant·ism    Audio Help   [tar-uhn-tiz-uhm] Pronunciation Key
–noun
a mania characterized by an uncontrollable impulse to dance, esp. as prevalent in southern Italy from the 15th to the 17th century, popularly attributed to the bite of the tarantula. Also, tarentism. Compare tarantula (def. 3).
[Origin: 1630–40; < NL tarantismus. See Taranto, -ism]

—Related forms
tar·ant·ist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
tarantism

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tar·an·tism    Audio Help   (tār'ən-tĭz'əm)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   A disorder characterized by an uncontrollable urge to dance, especially prevalent in southern Italy from the 15th to the 17th century and popularly attributed to the bite of a tarantula.


[New Latin tarantismus, 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.
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
tarantism

noun
a nervous disorder characterized by an uncontrollable impulse to dance; popularly attributed to bite of the southern European tarantula or wolf spider 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: tar·an·tism
Pronunciation: 'tar-&n-"tiz-&m
Function: noun
: a dancing mania or malady of late medieval Europe popularly regarded as being caused by the bite of the European tarantula (Lycosa tarentula)

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tarantism

Tar"ant*ism\, n. [It. tarantismo: cf. F. tarentisme. See Tarantula.] (Med.) A nervous affection producing melancholy, stupor, and an uncontrollable desire to dance. It was supposed to be produced by the bite of the tarantula, and considered to be incapable of cure except by protracted dancing to appropriate music. [Written also tarentism.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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