2 words pinned here
Taranto
40.4711°N 17.2431°E · Q13498
2 English words in this atlas trace back to Taranto. It sits in Italy.
tarantulanoun · 16th century
Well attestedThe spider is named for Taranto.
Italian tarantola names the wolf spider associated with Taranto. Folk belief tied its bite to tarantism and the tarantella. English tarantula later spread to large New World spiders that are not the original animal.
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tarantellanoun · 18th century
Well attestedThe dance and the spider share a city.
Folk belief held that a bite from the Taranto spider caused a frenzy that had to be danced out. The city named the spider and the cure alike.
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