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web

Etymology and origin of the English word web

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 725, Beowulf
Inherited from
Old English webb via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*(h)uebh-)

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English web,[2] inherited from Old English webb (“woven fabric, tapestry”),[3][4] related to wefan (“to weave”),[4][2] from Proto-Germanic *wabjam (“fabric, web”),[3][5] which is also the source of Old Saxon webbi, Dutch web, Old High German weppi and Old Norse vefr,[3][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *(h)uebh- (“to weave”).[3] It is related to weave and weft.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A woven fabric: about 725, in Beowulf.[4][6]

Semantic evolution

A spider's web is from before 1250 in Barnhart,[4] or about 1300 in Etymonline.[3] In anatomy it was used from about 1300 of the caul and other thin membranes,[3] and the membrane between the toes of aquatic birds is from the 1570s.[3][4] The figurative snare or entanglement is from 1574,[4] and something flimsy or fanciful from Bacon's Advancement of Learning (1605).[4] It was used of large rolls of paper on newspaper presses by 1825.[3] The Internet sense is a shortening of World Wide Web, attested by 1990, itself a specialised use of the old word, and the Web alone is recorded by 1992.[3] Web page and web browser are from 1990, and website and weblog from 1994.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – woven fabric, in Beowulf.[4]
  • before 1250 – a spider's web.[4]
  • c. 1440 – verb, to weave.[4][6]
  • 1574 – a snare.[4]
  • 1576 – membrane between the toes of a bird.[4]
  • 1825 – a roll of paper on a press.[3]
  • 1990 – World Wide Web.[3]
  • 1992 – the Web.[3]
  • 1994 – website, weblog.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A woven fabric, especially one on a loom.
  2. A network of fine threads spun by a spider.
  3. An intricate network or structure: a web of lies.
  4. A membrane joining the toes of a swimming bird or other animal.
  5. A continuous roll of paper for a printing press.
  6. the Web: the World Wide Web.

Verb

  1. To cover with or entangle in a web.

Word family

  • webbed
  • weblike
  • webless
  • webbing
  • webby
  • webcam
  • webfoot
  • webcast
  • weave
  • weft
  • woof
  • webster

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

  • mulberry · also from Old English
  • epistle · also from Old English
  • bosom · also from Old English
  • poppy · also from Old English
  • furlong · also from Old English
  • dwindle · also from Old English
  • daft · also from Old English
  • brazen · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Web.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/web. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·