Library / English Dictionary

TARANTULA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: tarantulae   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Large hairy tropical spider with fangs that can inflict painful but not highly venomous bites

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("tarantula" is a kind of...):

spider (predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey)

Holonyms ("tarantula" is a member of...):

family Theraphosidae; Theraphosidae (large tropical spiders; tarantulas)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Large southern European spider once thought to be the cause of tarantism (uncontrollable bodily movement)

Synonyms:

European wolf spider; Lycosa tarentula; tarantula

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("tarantula" is a kind of...):

hunting spider; wolf spider (ground spider that hunts its prey instead of using a web)

Holonyms ("tarantula" is a member of...):

genus Lycosa; Lycosa (type genus of the family Lycosidae)

Credits