cobweb

(käbweb′)

noun

  1. a web spun by a spider, esp. one spun indoors that has gathered dust
  2. a single thread of such a web
  3. 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:

See cobweb in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. a. The web spun by a spider to catch its prey.
    b. A single thread spun by a spider.
  2. Something resembling the web of a spider in gauziness or flimsiness.
  3. An intricate plot; a snare: caught in a cobweb of espionage and intrigue.
  4. cobwebs Confusion; disorder: cobwebs on the brain.
transitive verb cob·webbed, cob·web·bing, cob·webs
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

Learn more about cobweb

cobweb

link/cite print suggestion box