tarantula
Syllables: ta·ran·tu·la/təˈɹæn.t͡ʃʊ.lə/US/təˈɹæn.t͡ʃə.lə/
tarantula noun: any of the large, hairy New World spiders comprising the family Theraphosidae.
Noun
tarantula (plural tarantulas or tarantulae)
- Any of the large, hairy New World spiders comprising the family Theraphosidae.
- Cockroaches, centipedes, tarantulas, scorpions, and mosquitoes are abundant in summer. [...] Tarantulas and scorpions are little noticed by those who have been there any length of time.1857, John Askew, chapter II, in A Voyage to Australia & New Zealand, including a Visit to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Hunter’s River, Newcastle, Maitland, and Auckland; […], London: Simpkin...
- In the southern portions of the State we have met with specimens of brown tarantula weighing a full Troy ounce, but these were of unusual size. The wood tarantula is the largest of all, occasional specimens weighing an ounce and a half, inhabits dead wood, is very active on a warm day, is found of...1873 May 3, “The Tarantula—an Interesting Native of California”, in Friends' Intelligencer, volume XXX, number 10, Philadelphia, Pa.: John Comly, publishing agent, […]; Merrihew & Son, printers, […]...
- Synonyms:
- bird spider, monkey spider, rain spider
- A member of certain other groups of spiders, generally characterized by large size, hairiness, or membership of infraorder Mygalomorphae to which Theraphosidae family also belongs.
- The small funnel-web tarantulas are sedentary but notable for their aggressiveness and the strong action of their venom on human beings. A. robustus and formidabilis have caused human deaths.1971, Wolfgang Bücherl, “Spiders”, in Wolfgang Bücherl, Eleanor E[vans] Buckley, editors, Venomous Animals and Their Venoms, volume III (Venomous Invertebrates), New York, N.Y.; London: Academic...
- tergites: dorsal sclerites on the body; the hard plates on the abdomen of the atypical tarantulas that indicate segmentation2009, “Glossary”, in P. A. Sebastian, K. V. Peter, editors, Spiders of India, Himayatnagar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh: Universities Press (India), →ISBN, page 428
- A species of wolf spider, Lycosa tarantula, native to southern Europe, the mildly poisonous bite of which was once thought to cause an extreme urge to dance (tarantism).
- [I]t is better to be pained with the ſting of a Snake, and recouer, then be tickled with the venime of Tarantula and dye laughing: [...]1588, R[obert] Greene, “The Third Nights Exercise”, in Perimedes the Blacke Smith, a Golden Methode, how to Vse the Minde in Pleasant and Profitable Exercise: […], London: Printed by Iohn VVolfe, for...
- Many men catch this malady [i.e., melancholy] by [...] ſtinging with that kind of ſpider called Tarantula; [...] Their ſymptomes are merrily deſcribed by Iovianus Pontanus. Ant. dial. how they daunce alogether, and are cured by Muſick.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “An Heape of Other Accidents Causing Melancholy. Death of Friends, Losses, &c.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford...
tarantula meaning in Tamil, Malayalam, Assamese and Arabic
tarantula in Tamil
- நச்சு எட்டுக்கால் பூச்சி, நச்சுமிகு, பெரும் எட்டுக்கால் பூச்சி
tarantula in Malayalam
- tarantula
- ഉറുമാപ്പുലി uṟumāppuli, ഊറാമ്പിലി ūṟāmpili, ഊറാമ്പുലി ūṟāmpuli, കൂറാമ്പുലി kūṟāmpuli
tarantula in Assamese
- spider of the family Theraphosidae
- বাঘ মকৰা bagh mokora
tarantula in Arabic
- spider of the family Theraphosidae
- رُتَيْل rutayl
- wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
- رُتَيْل rutayl
More languagesFewer languages
- tarantula in Persian
- رتیل roteyl
Examples of tarantula in a sentence
- In the southern portions of the State we have met with specimens of brown tarantula weighing a full Troy ounce, but these were of unusual size.1873 May 3, “The Tarantula—an Interesting Native of California”, in Friends' Intelligencer, volume XXX, number 10, Philadelphia, Pa.: John...
- The use of the word "tarantula" is rather wide and dubious in application.1892 January, J. J. Rivers, “Description of the Nest of the Californian Turret Building Spider, with Some Reference to Allied Species”, in...
- Clarabelle is a pinktoe tarantula—one of the very first tarantulas described by Western scientists.2004, Sy Montgomery, “Expedition to Les Grottes”, in The Tarantula Scientist, New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 42:
- Tarantulas are found in parts of the United States and are frequently sold as pets.2010, Peter M[acGarr] Rabinowitz, Lisa A. Conti, “Toxic Exposures”, in Human–Animal Medicine: Clinical Approaches to Zoonoses, Toxicants...
Synonyms of tarantula
- bird spider
- monkey spider
- rain spider
Forms of tarantula
| plural | tarantulas |
|---|---|
| plural | tarantulae |
| alternative form (obsolete) | tarentula |
Origin of tarantula
From Medieval Latin tarantula, from Old Italian tarantola, from Taranto (“seaport in southern Italy”), from Latin Tarentum (“Latin name of the town”), from Ancient Greek Τάρᾱς (Tárās, “Greek name of the town”), genitive Τᾰ́ρᾰντος; compare Modern Greek Τάραντας (Tárantas) and Tarantino Tarde. probably from Illyrian *darandos (“oak”). Sense 3 (“Lycosa tarantula”) is the original sense of the word, and refers to the fact that the spider was common in the Apulia region where Taranto is located. Sense 1 (“New World spider in the family Theraphosidae”), the main modern sense of the word, may have been a transferred use of Spanish tarántula (“tarantula (Lycosa tarantula)”) to describe large, hairy spiders found in the New World.
Words formed from tarantula
- Antilles pinktoe tarantula
- atypical tarantula
- Brazilian whiteknee tarantula
- eastern tarantula
- Mombasa golden starburst tarantula
- orange baboon tarantula
- Singapore blue tarantula
- tarantula hawk
- tarantula juice
- tarantula killer
- tarantulalike
- tarantulated
- tarantula wasp
- tarantuloid
- Texas brown tarantula
Phrases with tarantula
Questions about tarantula
- What does tarantula mean?
- Tarantula means any of the large, hairy New World spiders comprising the family Theraphosidae.
- What is tarantula in Tamil?
- Tarantula in Tamil is நச்சு எட்டுக்கால் பூச்சி, நச்சுமிகு, பெரும் எட்டுக்கால் பூச்சி. See Tarantula meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use tarantula in a sentence?
- In the southern portions of the State we have met with specimens of brown tarantula weighing a full Troy ounce, but these were of unusual size.
- What part of speech is tarantula?
- Tarantula is a noun.
- How do you pronounce tarantula?
- Tarantula is pronounced /təˈɹæn.t͡ʃʊ.lə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of tarantula?
- The plural of tarantula is tarantulas.
Words near tarantula in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: tarantula (page history and authors); tarantula (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ഉറുമാപ്പുലി (Malayalam) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-tarantula.wav.
Cite this entry: “tarantula.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tarantula. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.