A cobweb is a spider’s web, especially an old one that is dusty and hanging in corners. People often associate cobwebs with abandoned or rarely cleaned places.
“Cobweb” comes from Middle English “coppeweb,” where “coppe” meant “spider.” Over time, the “p” sound weakened, and the word shifted to “cobweb,” even though “cob” no longer meant spider.
A cobweb is literally a “spider web,” but the old word for spider (“coppe”) faded away, leaving a mysterious “cob.” So when we say “cobwebs,” we’re using a fossil of an earlier English that still clings to our ceilings.
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