Spidah

noun SPI-dah ˈspaɪda

Also spelled spider, spida

A spider — the Patois pronunciation of 'spider'. Beyond the plain creature, the word carries special cultural weight, because the greatest figure of Jamaican folklore, Anancy, is a spider-man trickster brought from West Africa, so the humble spider is bound up with storytelling, cunning, and heritage. To Jamaicans the spider is never quite ordinary, shadowed by the sly, resourceful Anancy of the tales, and 'spidah' names both the small weaver in its web and the whole rich tradition of the spider-trickster and his stories.

  • A spidah spin him web inna di corner.

    A spider spun its web in the corner.

  • Anancy a di spidah-man a di story dem.

    Anancy is the spider-man of the stories.

  • Nuh fraid a di likkle spidah.

    Don't be afraid of the little spider.

The Patois pronunciation of 'spider'; culturally tied to Anancy, the spider-trickster of Jamaican folklore. See [[anansi]].

Means 'spider'; culturally linked to Anancy the spider-trickster. See [[anansi]], [[anancy-story]].