Webster's English Dictionary

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spider

spi.der \'spi-d-*r\ n [ME, alter. of spithre; akin to OE spinnan to spin] 
   1: any of an order (Araneida) of arachnids having a body with two main divi 
   sions, four pairs of walking legs, and two or more pairs of abdominal 
   spinnerets for spinning threads of silk used in making cocoons for their 
   eggs, nests for themselves, or webs for entangling their prey 2: a 
   cast-iron frying pan orig. made with short feet to stand among coals o n 
   the hearth 3: any of various devices consisting of a frame or skeleton with 
   radiating  arm or members