Definition of "tarantula" []

• Any of various large, hairy, chiefly tropical spiders of the family Theraphosidae, capable of inflicting a painful but not seriously poisonous bite. (noun)
• A large wolf spider (Lycosa tarentula) of southern Europe, once thought to cause tarantism. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In our notions concerning Substances, we are liable to all the former inconveniences: v.g. he that uses the word tarantula, without having any imagination or idea of what it stands for, pronounces a good word; but so long means nothing at all by it."
• "The Cape is also infested by scorpions, whose sting is little less virulent than a snake-bite; and by the spider called the tarantula, which is extremely dreaded."
• "Europe, to come across a genuine lover of the "tarantula" -- to meet at every corner of the street a great bearded fellow staggering along blind drunk, or attempting to steady the town by hugging a post."