What it means
عنکبوت (ankabut) means spider. The word entered Persian directly from Arabic عنكبوت (ʿankabūt), which itself has Semitic roots. It is the only standard word for spider in modern Persian: there is no common pure-Persian synonym in everyday use, so speakers at every register use the same Arabic-origin term. The word is perhaps most widely known outside linguistics because Surah Al-Ankabut (The Spider) is the 29th chapter of the Quran, named after the spider whose web sheltered the Prophet Muhammad according to Islamic tradition.
How to use it
- عنکبوت تو گوشهی اتاقمه. (Ankabut tu gushe-ye otâqame.) “There is a spider in the corner of my room.”
- عنکبوت تار میتنه. (Ankabut târ mi-tane.) “The spider is spinning a web.”
- از عنکبوت میترسم. (Az ankabut mi-tarsam.) “I am afraid of spiders.”
- تار عنکبوت پر از شبنمه. (Târ-e ankabut por az shabname.) “The spider web is full of dew.”
Cultural note
The spider carries a layered meaning in Persian and Islamic culture. In Islamic tradition, a spider spun its web across the mouth of a cave to hide the Prophet and Abu Bakr from pursuers, an act of divine protection through the smallest of creatures. This story is retold across Persian religious literature and gives عنکبوت a faintly sacred connotation that a purely secular reading of the word would miss. In everyday Iranian life, a spider web inside the house is often considered a sign of neglect rather than blessing, but the Quranic association gives the creature a permanent place in the literary imagination.