Do you speak a little Italian when you say 'tarantula'?

'Tarantula' is a word borrowed from Italian 'tarantula'. The word entered the English language some time around 1561.

tarantula [noun] [1561]

• a European wolf spider (Lycosa tarentula) popularly held to be the cause of
• any of a family (Theraphosidae) of large hairy American spiders that are typically rather sluggish and capable of bitin...

See 'tarantula' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Italian.

Etymology: Medieval Latin, from Old Italian 'tarantola' from 'Taranto'

See more loan words from 1500s.