The word cobweb was first used in 1323, when it was spelled coppe-webbe (the p became a b due to influence from cob, another word meaning "lump"). This hyphenated form reflects how the word was created: out of coppe, an archaic term for "spider", and web, which had the same meaning as today. Coppe was a clipping of a previous word for "spider", atorcoppe, and that literally meant "venom-head". The first part, ator, comes from a Proto-Germanic word meaning "ulcer", and the second part, coppe, could also mean "summit" or "top". It hails from Proto-Germanic kuppaz, or "vault", and that ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European reconstruction gu, "to bend". Web experienced very little change throughout history, tracing to PIE webh, meaning "to weave".
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AUTHORHello! I'm Adam Aleksic. This year, I graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Government and Linguistics. There, I co-founded the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society and wrote a thesis on Serbo-Croatian language policy, magna cum laude. In addition to etymology, I also really enjoy trivia, politics, vexillology, geography, board games, conlanging, art history, and law.
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