[ tə'rantjʊlə ]
■ noun
1》 a very large hairy spider found chiefly in tropical and subtropical America. [Family Theraphosidae.]
2》 a large black wolf spider of southern Europe, whose bite was formerly believed to cause tarantism. [ Lycosa tarentula .]
Origin
C16: from med. L., from Old Ital. tarantola , from the name of the Italian seaport Taranto ; cf. tarantism .