arachnoid means relating to or resembling spider webs; covered with or composed of soft loose hairs or fibers.
arachnoid is pronounced /əˈɹæk.nɔɪd/.
Why “arachnoid” is a great word
Resembling a delicate, interconnected fibrous web. The term, from New Latin *arachnoīdēs*, from Ancient Greek *ἀράχνη* (arákhnē, “spider web”) and *-ειδής* (-eidḗs, “-like”), was first attested in English in the mid-18th century. Unlike "arachnid," which names the eight-legged creature, or "filamentous," which denotes a simple thread-like form, "arachnoid" evokes a specific, ethereal architecture of silken threads. It is the ghostly lattice of frost on a windowpane at dawn, the intricate lace of capillaries beneath translucent skin, and the very membrane—the arachnoid mater—that veils the brain in a protective, gossamer shroud, a reminder that the most profound thoughts are cradled in something as fragile as a web.
Etymology
Mid 18th century borrowing from New Latin arachnoīdēs, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ρᾰχνοειδής (ărăkhnoeidḗs, “like a cobweb”), from ᾰ̓ρᾰ́χνη (ărắkhnē, “spider web”) + -ο- (-o-) + -ειδής (-eidḗs, “-oid, -like”). By surface analysis, arachn- + -oid.
adj
- Relating to or resembling spider webs; covered with or composed of soft loose hairs or fibers.
- Relating to the arachnoid mater.
- Relating to or resembling spiders.
noun
- A round network of fractures in the crust of Venus.
- An arachnid.
Words closest in meaning
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