Spider Web vs. Cobweb

Charlotte from Princeton, Kentucky, wonders: What’s the difference between a spider web and a cobweb? There’s a bit of semantic differentiation between the two: A cobweb is usually an old spider web, while a spider web that’s not old may still have a tenant. The cob- in cobweb comes from Old English coppe, which means “spider” and comes from an old root that means “head,” because a spider looks like little more than a head. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (Bookshop|Amazon) Bilbo Baggins tries to distract some spiders by singing a song with the lines “Attercop! Attercop! Down you drop!” The -cop in attercop comes from the same root as the cob- in cobweb. This is part of a complete episode.