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
Advertisement

Other Word Forms of Tarantula

Noun

Singular:
tarantula
Plural:
tarantulae, tarantulas

Origin 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

Tarantula Sentence Examples

  • The tarantula spider and the scorpion are found in the south of Italy.

  • Evelyn removed the obstacle from the door and snagged the tarantula cat as it darted past her.

  • Spiders - buying a tarantula There are several species of tarantula available in the UK pet trade.

  • Mrs Gray has a pet tarantula, and spider logos adorn her company cars and business cards.

  • On Wednesday afternoon, I held a tarantula in my hands at the insect house.

More Sentences

Related Articles

Advertisement

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to tarantula using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

TTATAR

Words Ending With

ALAULA

Unscrambles

tarantula

Words Starting With T and Ending With A

Starts With T & Ends With AStarts With TA & Ends With AStarts With T & Ends With LA

Word Length

9 Letter Words9 Letter Words Starting With T9 Letter Words Ending With A