Lycosa tarentula ly·co·sa·tarentula uncommon noun 1. large southern European spider once thought to be the cause of tarantism (uncontrollable bodily movement) SynonymsEuropean wolf spidertarantulaLycosa tarentula Related words Broader terms wolf spider Parts Lycosa WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved.