Dictionary

cross spider en · NOUN

Etymology

From cross + spider, from the common marking found on their backs.

Meanings

1. The European garden spider (Araneus diadematus).
   • I gazed at the defenceless captives with a shuddering sense of security, until one day a cross-spider broke out of its cage and ran furiously over my hands and clothing. 1960, Gottfried Keller, translated by AM Holt, Green Henry, Calder Publications, published 2010, page 69:

Forms