mygale

M3Y4G2A1L1E1
UK/ˈmɪɡəli/

noun

A shrew or ferret.

OriginLate Latin mygale ← Ancient Greek μυγαλέη →
First used 14th–19thScrabble 12
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Meanings

nounmygale (plural mygales)

plural mygales

  1. obsoleteA shrew or ferret.First known use 14th–19th

    These also shal be reputed among polluted things, of al that moue vpon the earth, the weesel and the mouse and the crocadile, euerie one according to their kinde, the migale and the camelean […] .

    1635, Holy Bible (Douay), Leviticus II.29–30
  2. Any of the former genus Mygale of large, hairy trapdoor spiders with four lungs and four spinnerets, now distributed in Mygalomorphae.First known use 19th c.

    The Mygales are the most interesting creatures, and are called Mason spiders because they build their own houses in a very remarkable manner.

    1865, Eneas Sweetland Dallas, editor, Once A Week, volume XII

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekμυγαλέη“shrew”
  2. Late Latinmygale“field mouse”
  3. Englishmygale

Borrowed from Late Latin mygale (“field mouse”) (Vetus Latina), from Ancient Greek μυγαλέη (mugaléē, “shrew”) (used in the Septuagint to translate Hebrew אֲנָקָה, now generally thought to indicate a gecko or similar small reptile).

More words from Late Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

gamelygleamymegaly
Cite this entry
APA

mygale. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mygale

MLA

“mygale.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mygale. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mygale,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mygale.

Source: mygale on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.