Spider

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Spider \Spi"der\, n.[OE. spi[thorn]re, fr. AS. spinnan to spin;
     -- so named from spinning its web; cf. D. spin a spider, G.
     spinne, Sw. spindel. See {Spin}.]
     1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of arachnids
        comprising the order Araneina. Spiders have the mandibles
        converted into poison fangs, or falcers. The abdomen is


        large and not segmented, with two or three pairs of
        spinnerets near the end, by means of which they spin
        threads of silk to form cocoons, or nests, to protect
        their eggs and young. Many species spin also complex webs
        to entrap the insects upon which they prey. The eyes are
        usually eight in number (rarely six), and are situated on
        the back of the cephalothorax. See Illust. under
        {Araneina}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Spiders are divided into two principal groups: the
           Dipneumona, having two lungs: and the Tetrapneumona,
           having four lungs. See {Mygale}. The former group
           includes several tribes; as, the jumping spiders (see
           {Saltigradae}), the wolf spiders, or {Citigradae} (see
           under {Wolf}), the crab spiders, or {Laterigradae} (see
           under {Crab}), the garden, or geometric, spiders, or
           {Orbitellae} (see under {Geometrical}, and {Garden}),
           and others. See {Bird spider}, under {Bird}, {Grass
           spider}, under {Grass}, {House spider}, under {House},
           {Silk spider}, under {Silk}.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zool.) Any one of various other arachnids resembling the
        true spiders, especially certain mites, as the red spider
        (see under {Red}).
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. An iron pan with a long handle, used as a kitchen utensil
        in frying food. Originally, it had long legs, and was used
        over coals on the hearth.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A trevet to support pans or pots over a fire.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Mach.) A skeleton, or frame, having radiating arms or
        members, often connected by crosspieces; as, a casting
        forming the hub and spokes to which the rim of a fly wheel
        or large gear is bolted; the body of a piston head; a
        frame for strengthening a core or mold for a casting, etc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Spider ant}. (Zool.) Same as {Solitary ant}, under
        {Solitary}.
  
     {Spider crab} (Zool.), any one of numerous species of maioid
        crabs having a more or less triangular body and ten long
        legs. Some of the species grow to great size, as the great
        Japanese spider crab ({Macrocheira Kempferi}), measuring
        sometimes more than fifteen feet across the legs when they
        are extended.
  
     {Spider fly} (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
        parasitic dipterous insects of the family {Hippoboscidae}.
        They are mostly destitute of wings, and live among the
        feathers of birds and the hair of bats. Called also {bird
        tick}, and {bat tick}.
  
     {Spider hunter} (Zool.), any one of several species of East
        Indian sunbirds of the genus {Arachnothera}.
  
     {Spider lines}, filaments of a spider's web crossing the
        field of vision in optical instruments; -- used for
        determining the exact position of objects and making
        delicate measurements. Fine wires, silk fibers, or lines
        on glass similarly placed, are called spider lines.
  
     {Spider mite}. (Zool.)
        (a) Any one of several species of parasitic mites of the
            genus {Argas} and allied genera. See {Argas}.
        (b) Any one of numerous small mites injurious to plants.
            
  
     {Spider monkey} (Zool.), any one of numerous species of South
        American monkeys of the genus {Ateles}, having very long
        legs and a long prehensile tail.
  
     {Spider orchis} (Bot.), a European orchidaceous plant
        ({Ophrys aranifera}), having flowers which resemble
        spiders.
  
     {Spider shell} (Zool.), any shell of the genus {Pteroceras}.
        See {Pteroceras}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  spider
       n 1: predatory arachnid that usually has silk-spinning organs at
            the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons
            for eggs or traps for prey
       2: a computer program that prowls the internet looking for
          publicly accessible resources that can be added to a
          database; the database can then be searched with a search
          engine [syn: {wanderer}]
       3: a skillet made of cast iron

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  39 Moby Thesaurus words for "spider":
     Chilopoda, Chordata, Echiuroidea, Ectoprocta, Entoprocta,
     Monoplacophora, Nemertinea, Phoronidea, arachnid, arthropod,
     beetle, bug, caterpillar, centipede, chilopod, daddy longlegs,
     diplopod, fly, harvestman, hexapod, insect, jenny, larva, maggot,
     millepede, millipede, mite, mule, nymph, scorpion, silkworm,
     skillet, spinner, spinning frame, spinning jenny, spinster,
     tarantula, throstle, tick
  
  

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  spider The Web-walking part of a search engine that collects pages for
     indexing in the search engine's database. Also called a {bot}. The
     best-known spider is Scooter, the web-walker for the Alta Vista search
     engine.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  spider
       
           (Or "robot", "crawler") A program that
          automatically explores the {World-Wide Web} by retrieving a
          document and recursively retrieving some or all the documents
          that are referenced in it.  This is in contrast with a normal
          {web browser} operated by a human that doesn't automatically
          follow links other than {inline images} and {URL redirection}.
       
          The {algorithm} used to pick which references to follow
          strongly depends on the program's purpose.  {Index}-building
          spiders usually retrieve a significant proportion of the
          references.  The other extreme is spiders that try to validate
          the references in a set of documents; these usually do not
          retrieve any of the links apart from redirections.
       
          The {standard for robot exclusion} is designed to avoid some
          problems with spiders.
       
          Early examples were {Lycos} and {WebCrawler}.
       
          {Home
          (http://info.webcrawler.com/mak/projects/robots/robots.html)}.
       
          (2001-04-30)
       
       

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Spider
     The trust of the hypocrite is compared to the spider's web or
     house (Job 8:14). It is said of the wicked by Isaiah that they
     "weave the spider's web" (59:5), i.e., their works and designs
     are, like the spider's web, vain and useless. The Hebrew word
     here used is _'akkabish_, "a swift weaver."
     
       In Prov. 30:28 a different Hebrew word (semamith) is used. It
     is rendered in the Vulgate by stellio, and in the Revised
     Version by "lizard." It may, however, represent the spider, of
     which there are, it is said, about seven hundred species in
     Palestine.