təˈranch(ə)lə, -raan-, -nt ə lə noun
Etymology: Medieval Latin, from Old Italian tarantola, from Taranto, seaport in southern Italy
1. plural tarantulas -ləz also ta·rantu·lae -chəˌlē, -t ə lˌē : a European wolf spider ( Lycosa tarentula ) regarded as the cause of tarantism
2. plural tarantulas also tarantulae
a. : a spider of the suborder Mygalomorphae ; especially : any of various large hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae that are typically rather sluggish and though capable of biting sharply are not significantly poisonous to man : bird spider
b. : a large spider — not used technically
3. capitalized
[New Latin, from Medieval Latin]
: a genus (the type of the family Tarantulidae) of whip scorpions