tarantella

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌtæɹənˈtɛlə/ (UK); /ˌtɛɹənˈtɛlə/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian tarantella,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Taranto, a city in southern Italy,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Latin Tarentum, from Greek Tárās.^[3] In folklore the dance was linked with the bite of the tarantula, also named from Taranto,^[3][4] and was thought to cure tarantism, an urge to dance feverishly;^[2][3][6] Etymonline calls this connection folk etymology.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A rapid, whirling dance of the peasants of southern Italy (1782).^[3][4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

The OED notes that the dance had been popular since the 15th century, when it was supposed to cure tarantism,^[7] which was epidemic in Apulia from the 15th to the 17th century.^[4] The music for the dance, now always in 6/8 time with whirling triplets, has been called a tarantella since 1833.^[4][7]

Timeline

• 1630s – tarantism, the dancing mania.^[4]
• 1782 – the dance.^[3][4][5][7]
• 1833 – music for the dance.^[4][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A lively, whirling folk dance of southern Italy, once thought to cure tarantism.
2. The music for this dance, in 6/8 time.

Related words

• tarantism
• tarantula

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press