Adjacent Words

Spider definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPI'DER, n. [I know not from what source this word is derived.] The common name of the insects of the genus Aranea, remarkable for spinning webs for taking their prey and forming a convenient habitation, and for the deposit of their food. The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine!

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey
2: a computer program that prowls the internet looking for publicly accessible resources that can be added to a database; the database can then be searched with a search engine [syn: spider, wanderer]
3: a skillet made of cast iron

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English spyder, alteration of spithre; akin to Old English spinnan to spin Date: 15th century 1. any of an order (Araneae syn. Araneida) of arachnids having the abdomen usually unsegmented and constricted at the base, chelicerae modified into poison fangs, and two or more pairs of abdominal spinnerets for spinning threads of silk for various uses (as in making cocoons for their eggs or webs to catch prey) 2. a cast-iron frying pan originally made with short feet to stand among coals on the hearth 3. any of various devices consisting of a frame or skeleton with radiating arms or members • spiderish adjective • spiderlike adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a any eight-legged arthropod of the order Araneae with a round unsegmented body, many of which spin webs for the capture of insects as food. b any of various similar or related arachnids, e.g. a red spider. 2 any object comparable to a spider, esp. as having numerous or prominent legs or radiating spokes. 3 Brit. a radiating series of elastic ties used to hold a load in place on a vehicle etc. --v.intr. 1 move in a scuttling manner suggestive of a spider (fingers spidered across the map). 2 cause to move or appear in this way. 3 (as spidering adj.) spiderlike in form, manner, or movement (spidering streets). Phrases and idioms: spider crab any of various crabs of the family Majidae with a pear-shaped body and long thin legs. spider monkey any S. American monkey of the genus Ateles, with long limbs and a prehensile tail. spider plant any of various house plants with long narrow striped leaves. Derivatives: spiderish adj. Etymology: OE spithra (as SPIN)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spider Spi"der, n.[OE. spi[thorn]re, fr. AS. spinnan to spin; -- so named from spinning its web; cf. D. spin a spider, G. spinne, Sw. spindel. Seee Spin.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of arachnids comprising the order Araneina. Spiders have the mandibles converted into poison fangs, or falcers. The abdomen is large and not segmented, with two or three pairs of spinnerets near the end, by means of which they spin threads of silk to form cocoons, or nests, to protect their eggs and young. Many species spin also complex webs to entrap the insects upon which they prey. The eyes are usually eight in number (rarely six), and are situated on the back of the cephalothorax. See Illust. under Araneina. Note: Spiders are divided into two principal groups: the Dipneumona, having two lungs: and the Tetrapneumona, having four lungs. See Mygale. The former group includes several tribes; as, the jumping spiders (see Saltigrad[ae]), the wolf spiders, or Citigrad[ae] (see under Wolf), the crab spiders, or Laterigrad[ae] (see under Crab), the garden, or geometric, spiders, or Orbitell[ae] (see under Geometrical, and Garden), and others. See Bird spider, under Bird, Grass spider, under Grass, House spider, under House, Silk spider, under Silk. 2. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of various other arachnids resembling the true spiders, especially certain mites, as the red spider (see under Red). 3. An iron pan with a long handle, used as a kitchen utensil in frying food. Originally, it had long legs, and was used over coals on the hearth. 4. A trevet to support pans or pots over a fire.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(spiders) A spider is a small creature with eight legs. Most types of spider make structures called webs in which they catch insects for food. N-COUNT

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The trust of the hypocrite is compared to the spider's web or house (Job 8:14). It is said of the wicked by Isaiah that they "weave the spider's web" (59:5), i.e., their works and designs are, like the spider's web, vain and useless. The Hebrew word here used is _'akkabish_, "a swift weaver."

In Prov. 30:28 a different Hebrew word (semamith) is used. It is rendered in the Vulgate by stellio, and in the Revised Version by "lizard." It may, however, represent the spider, of which there are, it is said, about seven hundred species in Palestine.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

spi'-der

(1) `akkabhish; compare Arabic `ankabut, English Versions of the Bible "spider"; Septuagint arachne (Job 8:14; Isa 59:5);

(2) semamith, "lizard," the King James Version "spider"; Septuagint kalabotes (Pr 30:28)): Semamith of Pr 30:28 is probably the gecko, a kind of lizard, as Septuagint and the Revised Version (British and American) have it. See LIZARD.

In Job 8:14 the spider's web is an emblem of frailty: "Whose confidence shall break in sunder, and whose trust is a spider's web." Frailty or futility seems to be indicated also in Isa 59:5,6: "They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web: .... Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works" "Spider's web" is in Job 8:14 both `akkabhish, "spider's house," while in Isa 59:5 it is qure `akkabhish, qur, according to BDB, being "thread" or "film."

Alfred Ely Day

Foolish Dictionary

A busy weaver and a good correspondent, who drops a line by every post.

Moby Thesaurus

Chilopoda, Chordata, Echiuroidea, Ectoprocta, Entoprocta, Monoplacophora, Nemertinea, Phoronidea, arachnid, arthropod, beetle, bug, caterpillar, centipede, chilopod, daddy longlegs, diplopod, fly, harvestman, hexapod, insect, jenny, larva, maggot, millepede, millipede, mite, mule, nymph, scorpion, silkworm, skillet, spinner, spinning frame, spinning jenny, spinster, tarantula, throstle, tick