arachnide

Forms

arachnide m (plural arachnides)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word from Ancient Greek ἀράχνη (arákhnē, “spider”) with the suffix -ide.^[2][1][3] Etymonline dates it to 1806 and connects it with the zoological class name New Latin Arachnida, introduced by Lamarck.^[4]

Picoche groups the Greek word with its equivalent Latin arānea (“spider”), the source of araignée, and says that both may have been borrowed from a Mediterranean language.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded from 1801 as a name for the eight-legged arthropods such as spiders and scorpions.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs to the zoological classification of the early 19th century: Lamarck used it in 1809 of the class that, in his order of animals, follows the insects.^[6] Littré defined the arachnids as a class of jointed animals with eight legs as adults and no wings or antennae, taking in spiders, harvestmen, scorpions and mites.^[3]

English took arachnid in 1854, from the French word or from the Latin class name.^[4]

Timeline

• 1801 – First record of arachnide.^[2]
• 1809 – Lamarck's Philosophie zoologique discusses the class of the arachnids.^[6]
• 1854 – English arachnid is first recorded.^[4]
• 1892 – Guérin's dictionary gives the word as feminine.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (zoology) An arachnid: a land arthropod with eight legs and no wings or antennae, such as a spider, a scorpion or a mite.^[6][7][1]
2. (in the plural) The class formed by these animals.^[7][3]

Related words

• araignée
• arachnéen
• arachnoïde
• Ancient Greek ἀράχνη (arákhnē)
• Latin arānea
• English arachnid

Usage notes

It is now masculine, but Larousse's 19th-century dictionary and Guérin's dictionary of 1892 made it feminine.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
6. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
7. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)