tarantism means an extreme urge to dance, popularly thought to have been caused by the bite of a tarantula (Lycosa tarantula) and prevalent in southern Italy in the 15th through 17th centuries. It carries an Arena rating of 1636, earned across 10 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, tarantism ranks #85 of 12,586 for Funniest Words, #780 of 12,576 for Scariest Words, #2,041 of 12,566 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,574 of 12,325 for Most Ponderous Words.
tarantism is pronounced /ˈtæɹəntɪzm/.
Why “tarantism” is a great word
Tarantism is a hysterical condition, prevalent in southern Italy from the 15th to the 17th centuries, characterized by an uncontrollable urge to dance, popularly attributed to the bite of a tarantula. From New Latin tarantismus, from Taranto (a seaport in southern Italy) + the suffix -ismus ("-ism"), via association with the tarantula spider found in the region. Unlike "tarantella"—which names the specific, lively folk dance and its music—or "chorea"—a general neurological term for involuntary, dance-like movements—tarantism is a culture-bound syndrome, a frantic performance prescribed by folk medicine. It is the imagined venom coursing through the veins as music, the desperate, synchronized convulsion of a community in a dusty piazza, and the collective fever of a village moving as one to outdance a spider's curse—a physical manifestation of a societal fever, danced not for joy, but for deliverance.
Etymology
From New Latin tarantismus + English -ism (suffix forming nouns of action, process, or result), from Old Italian Taranto (“seaport in southern Italy”) + Latin -ismus (“-ism”); see further at tarantula. The English word is cognate with French tarentisme, Italian tarantismo.
noun
- An extreme urge to dance, popularly thought to have been caused by the bite of a tarantula (Lycosa tarantula) and prevalent in southern Italy in the 15th through 17th centuries.“This dancing mania or tarantism prevailed during the whole of the 17th century — and Baglivi, one of the best physicians of that time, made it the subject of a dissertation. He supports his history of the symptoms by the testimony of his father, […]”