Spider Web vs. Cobweb

Hey there, you have A Way with Words.

This is Charlotte Jones.

I’m from western Kentucky, near Kentucky Lake, a little town called Princeton.

And we are having a conversation regarding cobwebs and spiderwebs.

Usually I think in the house that we have cobwebs.

And the other morning, a tiny little spider was industrially making a connection between a box on my vanity and a cabinet.

And that got me to wondering about the inside-outside names for their products.

So you’re thinking that maybe cobwebs are inside and spiderwebs are outside?

Well, that was the first connection that came to my mind.

Yeah, so there’s a couple different ways we can go with this. One, let’s do talk about the difference between spiderweb and cobweb, although literally they mean the same thing, which is this delicate lacework of thread put together by this arachnid.

We do find that there’s some semantic differentiation, if I can get technical.

And it’s not so much that a cobweb is inside, it’s that it’s an old spiderweb.

A cobweb is one that is probably covered in dust and maybe falling to rags.

While a spiderweb is one that may still have a tenant.

The spider may be still luring insects to their doom.

That makes perfect sense.

And then the cob and cobweb, obviously we know what the web is, so this is that wonderful lacework of fibers.

But cob is an old word for spider, and it comes from a word C-O-P-P-E, which goes back to Old English.

So we’re talking one of the oldest words that we still use today in English.

If you’ve ever read The Hobbit by Tolkien, there’s a ditty that Bilbo Baggins sings in the forest to these giant spiders,

And he says, Addercop, Addercop, down you drop.

Well, adder cop is another old word for spider.

And that cop in adder cop is the same as the cob in cobweb.

So the cob probably comes from a word meaning head because a spider is kind of looks like all head, you know.

It does.

Yeah.

Well, Charlotte, we’re delighted that you and your friends talk about language and to the point where you called us.

And we hope that they’ll call us as well with more questions.

Well, there is no doubt about that.

And we enjoy you all week in and week out,

And had no idea that we would be reaching back to Old English for this one.

So that was a delightful learning point today.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for calling.

Well, clear the cobwebs from your mind,

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Talk to us about English.

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