cobweb early 14c., coppewebbe; the first element is O.E. -coppe, in atorcoppe "spider," lit. "poison-head" (see attercop). Spelling with -b- is from 16c., perhaps from cob. Cob as a stand-alone for "a spider" was an old word nearly dead even in dialects when J.R.R. Tolkien used it in "The Hobbit" (1937).
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cobweb
early 14c., coppewebbe; the first element is O.E. -coppe, in atorcoppe "spider," lit. "poison-head" (see attercop). Spelling with -b- is from 16c., perhaps from cob. Cob as a stand-alone for "a spider" was an old word nearly dead even in dialects when J.R.R. Tolkien used it in "The Hobbit" (1937).
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cobweb
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