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tarantulae

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ta⋅ran⋅tu⋅la

  [tuh-ran-chuh-luh]
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–noun, plural -las, -lae  [-lee] .
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.
Origin:
1555–65; < ML < It tarantola. See Taranto, -ule
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ta·ran·tu·la   (tə-rān'chə-lə)   
n.   pl. ta·ran·tu·las or tarantu·lae (-lē')

  1. Any of various large, hairy, chiefly tropical spiders of the family Theraphosidae, capable of inflicting a painful but not seriously poisonous bite.

  2. A large wolf spider (Lycosa tarentula) of southern Europe, once thought to cause tarantism.


[Medieval Latin, from Old Italian tarantola, after Taranto.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ta·ran·tu·la
Pronunciation: t&-'ranch-(&-)l&, -'rant-&l-&
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural ta·ran·tu·las also ta·ran·tu·lae /-'ran-ch&-"lE, -'rant-&l-"E/
1 : a European spider(Lycosa tarentula of the family Lycosidae) popularly held to be the cause of tarantism
2 : any of a family (Theraphosidae) of large hairy American spiders that are typicallyrather sluggish and capable of biting sharply though most forms are not significantly poisonous to humans
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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.
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