Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A disorder characterized by an uncontrollable urge to dance, especially prevalent in southern Italy from the 15th to the 17th century and popularly attributed to the bite of a tarantula.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A dancing mania; specifically and originally, a dancing mania of the south of Italy in those who had been bitten by a tarantula, or thought they had been, and their imitators.
Wiktionary
- n. An extreme urge to dance, popularly thought to have been caused by the bite of a tarantula and prevalent in southern Italy in the 15th through 17th centuries.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A nervous affection producing melancholy, stupor, and an uncontrollable desire to dance. It was supposed to be produced by the bite of the tarantula, and considered to be incapable of cure except by protracted dancing to appropriate music.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a nervous disorder characterized by an uncontrollable impulse to dance; popularly attributed to bite of the southern European tarantula or wolf spider
Etymologies
- New Latin tarantismus, after Taranto .
Examples
“These effects consisted of a feigned or imaginary disease known as tarantism, which was prevalent in Apulia and other portions of southern Italy during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.”
“tarantism," which was supposed to originate in the bite of the tarantula.”
“One of the oldest documents on the subject of tarantism, Ferdinando Ponzetti's Sertum Papale De Venensis (1362), had suggested that the victims of shade-dwelling spiders were hostages to the music of the tarantula's bite, to its 'cantum tempore'.”
“Music, as a cure for tarantism, 197-200; as a medicine, 189; at banquets, 180-184; at hospitals, 193; distasteful to some persons, 186; healing influence of, 172-200.”
“Indeed, Dr.H. Chomet, who diligently investigated the matter, never succeeded in finding a case of tarantism, nor was he able even to obtain a glimpse of one of these insects.”
“It is certain, however, that tarantism was very prevalent in earlier times.”
“Dr. Mead, above mentioned, gave a curious description of the symptoms of tarantism.”
“Many physicians and historians have written on this subject, and with singular unanimity have endorsed music as a curative agent for tarantism.”
“This form of "possession," then, passed out of the supernatural domain, and became known as "tarantism.”
A History of the warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom
“Almost simultaneous with the dance of ` ` St. With, '' there appeared in Italy and Arabia a mania very similar in character which was called ` ` tarantism, '' which was supposed to originate in the bite of the tarantula.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘tarantism’.
-
Words
phantasmagoria, eviscerate, avast, simulacrum, varicose, oblique, gestalt, ersatz, vernal, vivace, stellate, synecdoche and 314 more...
-
Redundancing
The Moves. Do~do~ditty!
tango, bolero, cha cha, foxtrot, foxtantino, hip hop, hustle, jive, merengue, two step, paso doble, quickstep and 219 more...
-
-ism's -logies
acosmism, absurdism, absolutism, ableism, aestheticism, alarmism, allotheism, anachronism, animalculism, analogism, animatism, animism and 464 more...
-
Amos.Oz's list
"I am very concerned with the state of words. Words keep me up at night."
~Stacy Piestarantism, lucubration, psychopomp, wlatsome, logolept, hypnogogic, aphenphosmphobia, ataraxia, huggles, lucubration, sennight, plumicorn and 10 more...
-
Spiders
tarantula, black widow, brown recluse, orb-weaver, jumping spider, wolf spider, goliath birdeater, trapdoor spider, yellow sac spider, long-legged sac s..., redback spider, redback and 41 more...
-
Exquisite Words
Words that need no description other than their own exquisiteness, either in sound or meaning.
autumn leaves, effluvia, petrichor, velvet, leather, crepuscular, sillage, psithurism, strikhedonia, tibialoconcupiscent, tarantism, daduchos and 8 more...
-
-isms
fascism, anarchism, satanism, racism, racialism, nordicism, nazism, socialism, catholicism, national socialism, paganism, hinduism and 67 more...
jmjarmstrong JM just doesn’t have the urge for tarantism that he used to. Sep 5, 2009