tarantism noun. ['tar(ǝ)ntɪz(ǝ)m] M17.
[Italian tarantismo, from Taranto: see TARANTELLA.]
A nervous condition characterized by an impulse to dance energetically, esp. (Hist.) as widespread in southern Italy from the 15th to 17th cents. and popularly associated (either as an effect or a cure) with the bite of the tarantula.

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