means A small eight-legged arthropod that spins silk to catch prey, found nearly everywhere humans wish it weren't.

from From Old English 'spīþra,' which traces back to the Proto-Germanic root meaning 'to spin' — a cousin of the same family that gives us 'spin' and 'spindle.' The creature was quite literally named 'the spinner.' Related forms appear across the Germanic languages, all circling that same idea of drawing out thread. So the spider has, etymologically, only ever had one job.