Eight-legged arachnids that spin webs to catch insects and are found on every continent except Antarctica.
From Old English 'spithra' or 'spīðra,' likely from 'spinnan' (to spin) because of their web-spinning ability. The word evolved directly from the Germanic root describing their most distinctive behavior.
Spider silk is stronger than steel of the same thickness, and scientists are now genetically engineering spider silk proteins in goats' milk to create bulletproof vests—nature's engineer has been solving materials problems for 380 million years.
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