Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Water spider
Wa′ter spi′der
.(Zool.)
(a)
An aquatic European spider (
Argyoneta aquatica
) which constructs its web beneath the surface of the water on water plants. It lives in a bell-shaped structure of silk, open beneath like a diving bell, and filled with air which the spider carries down in the form of small bubbles attached one at a time to the spinnerets and hind feet. Called also diving spider
. (b)
A water mite.
(c)
Any spider that habitually lives on or about the water, especially the large American species (
Dolomedes lanceolatus
) which runs rapidly on the surface of water; – called also raft spider
.