TARANTULA

noun (plural ~s; also ~e) Etymology: Medieval Latin, from Old Italian tarantola, from Taranto Date: 1561 a European wolf spider ( Lycosa tarentula ) popularly held to be the cause of tarantism, any of a family (Theraphosidae) of large hairy American spiders that are typically rather sluggish and capable of biting sharply though most forms are not significantly poisonous to humans