Tarantula.
(Of thelat.)(tarantula, ofTarentum, the city of Taranto).
1. f. very common spider in midday in Europe, mainly in the vicinity of Taranto, in Italy, and whose body, of about three centimeters long, is black on top, reddish below, hairy chest, almost round in the abdomen, and with strong legs. It lives among rocks or in deep holes in the ground, and is poisonous, although its bite, which were attributed in another time rare nervous effects, only produces an inflammation.
1. loc. adj. said of a person which suffers from any physical or moral condition.