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black widow
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an American spider (Latrodectus mactans), the female of which has a glossy black body with an hourglass-shaped red mark underneath, and a poisonous bite which is normally not fatal: so called because the female sometimes eats its mate
See black widow in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
A poisonous New World spider (Latrodectus mactans), the female of which produces extremely toxic venom and has a black shiny body with red markings.
Origin:
Origin: From the fact that the female eats its mate
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