Tarantula Definition
 tə-rănchə-lə 
  tarantulae, tarantulas
  
    noun
  
 
    tarantulas
  
A wolf spider (Lycosa tarentula) of S Europe, whose bite was popularly but wrongly supposed to cause tarantism.
 Webster's New World 
Any of numerous large, hairy spiders with a poisonous bite that usually has little effect on warmblooded animals; specif., any of a family (Theraphosidae) found in the SW U.S. and tropical America.
 Webster's New World 
Synonyms: 
  - Lycosa tarentula
 - European wolf spider
 
Other Word Forms of Tarantula
Noun
Singular:
 tarantulaPlural:
 tarantulae, tarantulasOrigin of Tarantula
-  
Via Medieval Latin, from Old Italian tarantola, named after Taranto, a seaport in southern Italy; from Latin Tarentum, from Ancient Greek Τάρᾱς (Tarās) Tarās; compare Modern Greek: Τάραντας (Tárantas) Tarantas; Tarantino "Tarde;" ultimately from Illyrian darandos, "oak."
From Wiktionary
 Medieval Latin from Old Italian tarantola after Taranto
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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