Tarantism

Quick meaning: Tarantism is a noun meaning 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.

Meaning

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.

Example Sentences

The position depicted is often seen to characterize rituals of tarantism, used for centuries in southern Italy and elsewhere to treat victims of the tarantula's bite, expressing personal and social crises (De Martino 2005).

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, […]

Word Forms

• tarantisms
• tarentism

Synonyms for tarantism

Depending on context, synonyms include choreomania.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include tarantulism, tartar, macaberesque, terror, tantalism, thrashing.

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