Tarantula

3 definitions found

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

  Tarantula \Ta*ran"tu*la\, n.; pl. E. {Tarantulas}, L.
     {Tarantulae}. [NL., fr. It. tarantola, fr. L. Tarentum, now
     Taranto, in the south of Italy.] (Zool.)
     Any one of several species of large spiders, popularly
     supposed to be very venomous, especially the European species
     ({Tarantula apuliae}). The tarantulas of Texas and adjacent


     countries are large species of Mygale. [Written also
     {tarentula}.]
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Tarantula killer}, a very large wasp ({Pompilus formosus}),
        which captures the Texan tarantula ({Mygale Hentzii}) and
        places it in its nest as food for its young, after
        paralyzing it by a sting.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  tarantula
       n 1: large southern European spider once thought to be the cause
            of tarantism (uncontrollable bodily movement) [syn: {European
            wolf spider}, {Lycosa tarentula}]
       2: large hairy tropical spider that can inflict painful but not
          highly venomous bites
       [also: {tarantulae} (pl)]

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

  22 Moby Thesaurus words for "tarantula":
     arachnid, arthropod, beetle, bug, caterpillar, centipede, chilopod,
     daddy longlegs, diplopod, fly, harvestman, hexapod, insect, larva,
     maggot, millepede, millipede, mite, nymph, scorpion, spider,
     tick