Emily Dickinson Lexicon

COB'WEB, n. [cob or koppe, a spider; D. spinnekop; Sax. atter-coppa, poison spider. In Ch. ביבי, is a spider's web.]

1. The line, thread, or filament which a spider spins from its abdomen; the net-work spread by a spider to catch its prey. Hence,
2. Any snare, implying insidiousness and weakness. – Johnson. In this sense, it is used adjectively or in composition, for thin, flimsy; as, a cobweb law. – Dryden. Swift. Or slender, feeble; as, the cobweb thread of life. – Buckminster.