attercop
/ (ˈætəkɒp) /
noun archaic, or dialect
a spider
an ill-natured person
Nearby words
attenuate, attenuated, attenuated virus, attenuation, attenuator, attercop, attest, attestation, attested, attested form, attic
Word Origin for attercop
Old English attorcoppa, from ātor poison and possibly cop head
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Examples from the Web for attercop
The ettercap is the poison-spider, and should be spelt "Attercop."
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol 1|The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.
Word Origin and History for attercop
attercop
"spider," Old English attorcoppe, literally "poison-head," from ator "poison, venom," from Proto-Germanic *aitra- "poisonous ulcer" (cf. Old Norse eitr, Old High German eitar "poison;" German eiter "pus," Old High German eiz "abscess, boil;" Old English atorcræft "art of poisoning") + copp "top, summit, round head," probably also "spider" (cf. cobweb and Dutch spinne-cop "spider").
Amptes & attircoppes & suche oþer þat ben euere bisy ben maide to schewe man ensaumple of stodye & labour. [Elucidarium of Honorius of Autun (Wycliffite version) c.1400]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper