Where does “tarantula” come from?
tarantula (Finnish) comes from English tarantula, from Medieval Latin tarantula, from Italian tarantola, from Italian Taranto, from Latin Tarentum, from Ancient Greek Τάρᾱς, from Illyrian darandos — oak.
Ancestry of “tarantula”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tarantula | Any of the large, hairy New World spiders... |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | tarantula | — |
| 3 | Italian | tarantola | tarantula |
| 4 | Italian | Taranto | the letter T in the [[Appendix:Italian spelling alphabet |
| 5 | Latin | Tarentum | Latin name of the town |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | Τάρᾱς | Tarās; Greek name of the town |
| 7 | Illyrian | darandos | oak |