noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/təˈɹæn.t͡ʃʊ.lə/
Received-Pronunciation:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/təˈɹæn.t͡ʃə.lə/
CMU ARPABET:T AH0 R AE1 N CH UW0 L AH0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:T AH0 R AE1 N CH AH0 L AH0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Any of the large, hairy New World spiders comprising the family Theraphosidae.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bird spider, monkey spider, rain spider
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
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).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
large hairy tropical spider with fangs that can inflict painful but not highly venomous bites
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: spider
5
noun
Meaning 5
large southern European spider once thought to be the cause of tarantism (uncontrollable bodily movement)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: European wolf spider, Lycosa tarentula
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: wolf spider, hunting spider
History
Etymology
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.
Across languages
Translations
79 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
رُتَيْل
(rutayl)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Arabic:
رُتيلا
(rutēla)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Arabic:
رُتيل
(rutēl)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Armenian:
սարդ-թռչնակեր
(sard-tʻṙčʻnaker)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Armenian:
մկնասարդ
(mknasard)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Assamese:
বাঘ মকৰা
(bagh mokora)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Bashkir:
бөйө
(böyö)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Bulgarian:
тарантула
(tarantula)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Catalan:
taràntula
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Cheyenne:
ma'xemo'ôhtáevé'ho'e
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Chinese Mandarin:
捕鳥蛛 /捕鸟蛛
(bǔniǎozhū)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Choctaw:
chulhkʋn chito
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Czech:
tarantule
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Dutch:
vogelspin
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Esperanto:
tarantulo
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Finnish:
lintuhämähäkki
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
French:
tarentule
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
French:
mygale
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Galician:
tarántula
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
German:
Vogelspinne
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Greek:
ταραντούλα
(tarantoúla)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Hebrew:
טָרַנְטוּלָה
(ṭāranṭūlā́)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Hungarian:
madárpók
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Icelandic:
tarantúla
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Italian:
tarantola
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Japanese:
大土蜘蛛
(ōtsuchigumo)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Northern Kurdish:
tarantul
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Northern Kurdish:
tevnpîrka gir
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Latvian:
tarantuls
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Latvian:
putnu zirneklis
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Central Sierra Miwok:
hyp·yp·i-
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Navajo:
naałʼaashii
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Polish:
ptasznik
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Polish:
tarantula
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Portuguese:
tarântula
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Quechua:
apanqura
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Quechua:
apasanka
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Romanian:
tarantulă
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Russian:
пау́к-птицее́д
(paúk-pticejéd)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Russian:
пау́к-птицея́д
(paúk-pticejád)
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Scottish Gaelic:
tarantula
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Serbo-Croatian:
па̏ӯк пти̏ча̄р
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Serbo-Croatian:
pȁūk ptȉčār
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Spanish:
tarántula
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Swahili:
bui
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Swedish:
fågelspindel
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Turkish:
tarantula
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Zoogocho Zapotec:
šojtaoꞌ
— spider of the family Theraphosidae
Arabic:
رُتَيْل
(rutayl)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Armenian:
մորմ
(morm)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Chinese Mandarin:
狼蜘蛛
(lángzhīzhū)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Danish:
tarantel
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Dutch:
tarantula
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Finnish:
taranteli
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Finnish:
tarantella
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Finnish:
provencentaranteli
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
French:
tarentule
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
French:
mygale
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
German:
Tarantel
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Greek:
ταραντούλα
(tarantoúla)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Italian:
tarantola
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Japanese:
子守蜘蛛
(komorigumo)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Japanese:
タランチュラ
(taranchura)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Kazakh:
түкті мигаломорф
(tüktı migalomorf)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Norwegian Bokmål:
tarantell
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Norwegian Nynorsk:
tarantell
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Persian:
رتیل
(roteyl)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Polish:
tarantula
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Portuguese:
aranha-lobo
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Russian:
тара́нтул
(tarántul)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Russian:
мизги́рь
(mizgírʹ)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Serbo-Croatian:
тара̀нтула
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Serbo-Croatian:
тара̀нтел
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Serbo-Croatian:
тара̀нтела
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Serbo-Croatian:
taràntula
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Serbo-Croatian:
taràntel
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Serbo-Croatian:
taràntela
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Spanish:
tarántula
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
Uyghur:
بۇي
(buy)
— wolf spider of the species Lycosa tarantula
