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Glite Dictionary
🕷️ Cellar spider-like 🕷️ A cellar spider
pholcid

pholcid

1 9.9
A thin-legged spider like a cellar spider that makes delicate webs
  • noun
  • /ˈfoʊl.sɪd/
  • Specialized
: pholcido
  • The delicate web of a pholcid can often be seen in undisturbed rooms.

Examples

  • A pholcid spun its web in the corner of the basement.

  • Many people mistake a pholcid for a daddy long-legs because of its thin legs.

  • I found a pholcid in the corner of my basement.

  • The pholcid spun a delicate web in the attic.

  • The pholcid spun a delicate web in the corner of the cellar.

  • During the tour, we learned that the pholcid is often found in homes due to its preference for dark places.

  • I found a pholcid in the basement, quietly waiting for its prey in its intricate web.

Synonyms

spider
vspholcid
335 1.0

A small animal with eight legs that makes webs and often has a poisonous bite

is narrower, naming a family known for long legs and delicate webs
arachnid
vspholcid
11 6.8

An animal with eight legs like a spider or scorpion

is a smaller group within that class known for long legs and delicate webs

Surface Forms

pholcid singular
pholcids plural

Morphology

pholcid = Pholcidae (opaque) = pholc + id

Derived from the family name with the taxonomic suffix '-id'; this formation is technical and unlikely to be transparent to general learners.

Etymology

The word pholcid comes from the scientific family name Pholcidae, taken from the genus Pholcus. So a pholcid is simply a 'cellar spider', the long-legged spider you often see in corners and basements.