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cobweb
(käb′web′)
noun
- a web spun by a spider, esp. one spun indoors that has gathered dust
- a single thread of such a web
- anything flimsy, gauzy, or ensnaring, like the web of a spider
Origin: ME copweb < coppe, spider (< OE -coppe, in atorcoppe < ator, poison + -coppe, spider; prob. akin to cop, cop) + web
transitive verb cobwebbed, cobwebbing
to cover with or as with cobwebs
Related Forms:
- cobwebby adjective
See cobweb in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- a. The web spun by a spider to catch its prey.b. A single thread spun by a spider.
- Something resembling the web of a spider in gauziness or flimsiness.
- An intricate plot; a snare: caught in a cobweb of espionage and intrigue.
- cobwebs Confusion; disorder: cobwebs on the brain.
To cover with or as if with cobwebs.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English coppeweb
Origin: : coppe, spider (short for attercoppe, from Old English āttercoppe : ātor, poison + copp, head)
Origin: + web, web; see web
.Related Forms:
- cobˈwebˌby adjective
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