ENGLISH
REFERENCE

spider

n. countable
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈspaɪdɝ// UK //spˈaɪdɐ// spi·der Archaic Dialect General-service Slang

n. a small creature with eight legs that often spins webs to catch insects. Most types are harmless to humans, though some can bite.

n. an eight-legged predatory arachnid of the order Araneae, typically possessing silk-spinning spinnerets for web construction. Distinguished from insects by having two body segments rather than three.


SIMPLE

A large spider is spinning a web in the corner.

CONTEXTUAL

The gardener noticed a tiny spider hiding under the leaf of the rose bush.

COMPLEX

While many people experience an instinctive fear of spiders, these arachnids play a vital role in the ecosystem by controlling the populations of various flying insects.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English spiþre, spydyr, spider, spiþer, from Old English spīþra (“spider”), from Proto-West Germanic spinþrijō, from Proto-Germanic spinnaną (“to spin”). Mostly displaced attercop (“spider, unpleasant person”), now a dialectal term. Compare typologically Proto-Slavic *mězgyrь (whence Russian мизги́рь (mizgírʹ)) (akin to Latvian mežģīt), Turkish örümcek (akin to örmek).

Usage

Commonly used with the verb 'spin' when referring to the creation of webs.

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