cobweb English · revision 1588

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkɒbwɛb/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|coppeweb]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Barnhart 1995) from ''coppe'' “spider” and [[web]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) ''Coppe'' is from Old English ''-coppe'' in [[ang|ātorcoppe|t=spider]], literally “poison head”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from ''ātor'' “poison” and ''copp'' “top, head”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) It is related to Middle Dutch ''coppe'' “spider”.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Barnhart 1995) The spelling with ''-b-'' dates from the 16th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The web spun by a spider to catch its prey (1323).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Figurative uses appeared in the 1570s: anything flimsy or easily broken, and fanciful, fine-spun reasoning.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) By 1581 cobwebs were also a musty accumulation that should be swept away,^(OED 1989) and from 1649 a subtle snare.^(OED 1989) In the plural the word is also used of confusion or muddled thinking, as in a head full of cobwebs.^(RHWU)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1323 – a spider's web.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1579 – anything flimsy or insubstantial.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1581 – a musty accumulation to be swept away.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1649 – a subtle snare.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1837 – a single spider's thread, used in optical instruments.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1928 – verb, to cover with cobwebs.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The web a [[spider]] spins to catch its prey, especially an old, dusty one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A single thread spun by a spider.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # Something flimsy or [[gauzy]] like a spider's web.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # An intricate plot; a [[snare]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(usually plural)'' Confusion or muddled thinking.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover with or as if with cobwebs.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cobwebby]]

+ * [[cobwebbed]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[attercop]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}