Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A young woman who was transformed into a spider by Athena for challenging her to a weaving contest.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun The genus Leptopus.
  • proper noun Greek mythology A woman famous for her skill at weaving. She was changed into a spider by the goddess Athena.
  • proper noun A web browser.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin Arachnē, from Ancient Greek ἀράχνη (arakhnē, "spider").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Arachne.

Examples

  • Besides needing to clear her name, Allison knows that a brilliant but insane daughter of the late Arachne is planning a major terrorist attack on the United States.

    Disclosure- Nancy Holder « The Merry Genre Go Round Reviews 2008

  • Carpio plays an evil spider woman called Arachne, one of the handful of large roles in the complicated, stunt-heavy production.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • Producers of the $65 million musical said Tuesday, March 22, 2011, that Carpio, who plays an evil spider woman called Arachne, was hurt last week during an onstage battle scene.

    Boston.com Top Stories 2011

  • She plays an evil spider woman called Arachne and will be out of the show for the next two weeks.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • Carpio plays an evil spider woman called Arachne, one of the handful of large roles in the complicated, stunt-heavy production.

    Boston.com Top Stories 2011

  • Finally, we encountered the first major boss of the game, the Arachne, which is a tremendous spider that Ken calls a "Class Five Carrier," implying that it's a major foe.

    unknown title 2009

  • This, and the story in "Arachne," how she let him touch the tea-kettle; and the reminiscences in "Præterita" of playthings locked up, and a lone little boy staring at the water-cart and the pattern on the carpet -- all these give a gloomy impression of his mother, against which we must set the proofs of affection and kindliness shown in her letters.

    The Life of John Ruskin 1893

  • I have here a little poem of a touching character entitled "Arachne," by

    Books and Habits from the Lectures of Lafcadio Hearn Lafcadio Hearn 1877

  • Embroidery_, mentions 'Arachne', it is obvious that he does not expect the reader to think of the daring challenger of Minerva's art, or the

    Proserpine and Midas Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 1824

  • -- P.W. [446] 'Arachne's subtile line:' this is one of the most ingenious employments assigned, and therefore recommended only to peers of learning.

    The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 2 Alexander Pope 1716

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.