arachn(o)-
A spider or spiders.
[Greek arakhnē, spider.]
Somebody frightened of spiders is said to have arachnophobia; the study of spiders—and the other Arachnida, a class of arthropods that also includes scorpions, mites, and ticks—is arachnology; an arachnid is a member of this group; the associated adjective is arachnoid.
Visit Michael Quinion’s World Wide Words site for 2000+ articles on English!
Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Page last updated 23 September 2008.
Your comments and suggestions on the site are very welcome.