cobweb
[ kob-web ]
/ ˈkɒbˌwɛb /
|
noun
verb (used with object), cob·webbed, cob·web·bing.
to cover with or as with cobwebs: Spiders cobwebbed the cellar.
to confuse or muddle: Drunkenness cobwebbed his mind.
Nearby words
cobot, cobourg, cobra, cobra de capello, coburg, cobweb, cobweb houseleek, cobwebbed, cobwebby, cobwebs, coca
Origin of cobweb
1275–1325; Middle English coppeweb, derivative of Old English -coppe spider (in ātorcoppe poison spider); cognate with Middle Dutch koppe; see web
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for cobwebs
British Dictionary definitions for cobwebs (1 of 2)
cobwebs
/ (ˈkɒbˌwɛbz) /
pl n
mustiness, confusion, or obscurity
informal stickiness of the eyelids experienced upon first awakening
British Dictionary definitions for cobwebs (2 of 2)
cobweb
/ (ˈkɒbˌwɛb) /
noun
a web spun by certain spiders, esp those of the family Theridiidae, often found in the corners of disused rooms
a single thread of such a web
something like a cobweb, as in its flimsiness or ability to trap
Derived Formscobwebbed, adjectivecobwebby, adjective
Word Origin for cobweb
C14 cob, from coppe, from Old English (ātor) coppe spider; related to Middle Dutch koppe spider, Swedish (dialect) etterkoppa
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for cobwebs
cobweb
early 14c., coppewebbe; the first element is Old English -coppe, in atorcoppe "spider," literally "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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper