tarantula Look up tarantula at Dictionary.com
1561, "wolf spider," (Lycos tarantula), from M.L. tarantula, from It. tarantola, from Taranto "Taranto," seaport city in southern Italy in the region where the spiders are frequently found, from L. Tarentum, from Gk. Taras (gen. Tarantos; perhaps from Illyrian darandos "oak"). Its bite is only slightly poisonous. Popularly applied to other great hairy spiders, especially the genus Mygale, native to the warmer regions of the Americas (first so called in 1794).