SPIDER

spider

(noun) 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

spider

(noun) a skillet made of cast iron

spider, wanderer

(noun) 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

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Proper noun

Spider

The 29th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.

Anagrams

• Prides, prides, prised, redips, risped, spired

Etymology

Noun

spider (countable and uncountable, plural spiders)

Any of various eight-legged, predatory arthropods, of the order Araneae, most of which spin webs to catch prey.

(Internet) A program which follows links on the World Wide Web in order to gather information.

(chiefly, Australia and New Zealand) A float (drink) made by mixing ice-cream and a soda or fizzy drink (such as lemonade).

(slang) A spindly person.

(slang) A man who persistently approaches or accosts a woman in a public social setting, particularly in a bar.

(snooker, billiards) A stick with a convex arch-shaped notched head used to support the cue when the cue ball is out of reach at normal extension; a bridge.

(cookware, US, UK, chiefly, historical and now, dialectal) A cast-iron frying pan with three legs, once common in open-hearth cookery.

(cooking) Implement for moving food in and out of hot oil for deep frying, with a circular metal mesh attached to a long handle; a spider skimmer

(cycling) A part of a crank, to which the chainrings are attached.

(slang, uncountable) Heroin (street drug).

(music) Part of a resonator instrument that transmits string vibrations from the bridge to a resonator cone at multiple points.

A skeleton or frame with radiating arms or members, often connected by crosspieces, such as a casting forming the hub and spokes to which the rim of a fly wheel or large gear is bolted; the body of a piston head; or a frame for strengthening a core or mould for a casting.

(fly fishing, England, ) a soft-hackle fly

(sports) The network of wires separating the areas of a dartboard

(maths) A spider graph or spider tree

(obsolete) A type of light phaeton.

Synonyms

• (arthropod of the order Araneae): attercop (obsolete except in dialects); cop (obsolete)

Verb

spider (third-person singular simple present spiders, present participle spidering, simple past and past participle spidered)

To move like a spider.

To cover a surface like a cobweb.

(Internet, of a computer program) To follow links on the World Wide Web in order to gather information.

Anagrams

• Prides, prides, prised, redips, risped, spired

Source: Wiktionary


Spi"der, n.Etym: [OE. spi, fr. AS. spinnan to spin; -- so named from spinning its web; cf. D. spin a spider, G. spinne, Sw. spindel. Seee Spin.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: 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 Saltigradæ), the wolf spiders, or Citigradæ (see under Wolf), the crab spiders, or Laterigradæ (see under Crab), the garden, or geometric, spiders, or Orbitellæ (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. (Zoöl.)

Definition: 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.

5. (Mach.)

Definition: A skeleton, or frame, having radiating arms or members, often connected by crosspieces; as, a casting forming the hub and spokes to which the rim of a fly wheel or large gear is bolted; the body of a piston head; a frame for strengthening a core or mold for a casting, etc. Spider ant. (Zoöl.) Same as Solitary ant, under Solitary.

– Spider crab (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of maioid crabs having a more or less triangular body and ten long legs. Some of the species grow to great size, as the great Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira Kempferi), measuring sometimes more than fifteen feet across the legs when they are extended.

– Spider fly (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of parasitic dipterous insects of the family Hippoboscidæ. They are mostly destitute of wings, and live among the feathers of birds and the hair of bats. Called also bird tick, and bat tick.

– Spider hunter (Zoöl.), any one of several species of East Indian sunbirds of the genus Arachnothera.

– Spider lines, filaments of a spider's web crossing the field of vision in optical instruments; -- used for determining the exact position of objects and making delicate measurements. Fine wires, silk fibers, or lines on glass similarly placed, are called spider lines.

– Spider mite. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of several species of parasitic mites of the genus Argas and allied genera. See Argas. (b) Any one of numerous small mites injurious to plants.

– Spider monkey (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of South American monkeys of the genus Ateles, having very long legs and a long prehensile tail.

– Spider orchis (Bot.), a European orchidaceous plant (Ophrys aranifera), having flowers which resemble spiders.

– Spider shell (Zoöl.), any shell of the genus Pteroceras. See Pteroceras.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


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Coffee Trivia

There are more than 50 countries that export coffee. They are near the equator, where the climate is conducive to producing coffee beans.

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