† ˈattercop Obs. or dial.
Forms: 1 attorcoppa, 1–5 attercoppe, 4 atturcoppe, addurcop, 5 attyrcope, -coppe, 6 att-, addircop, 7 attercob, 9 attercap, 4–9 attercop.
[OE. attorcoppa, f. átor, attor, poison + coppa, deriv. of cop top, summit, round head, or copp cup, vessel; in reference to the supposed venomous properties of spiders. Cf. also Du. spinne-cop ‘spider,’ and cob-web, formerly cop-webbe; whence it appears probable that the simple coppa was itself = ‘spider.’]
1. A spider.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 92 Wiþ attorcoppan bite. a 1250 Owl & Night. 600 Wat etestu..Bute attercoppe and fule vliȝe? ? c 1350 MS. in R. Brunne's Chron. (Hearne) Pref. 200 An atturcoppe cum owte..and bote hem by the nekkus..þat ii. of hem weron deed. 1382 Wyclif Isa. lix. 5 The webbis of an attercop [1388 an yreyn]. a 1400 Metr. Gloss. in Wright Voc. 177 Aranea, addurcop. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xi. 46 Alsa kobbyd in his crope As he had ettyn ane attyrcope. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 63 The attercoppe..makithe his nettes to take the flyes. 1658 Rowland Mouffet's Theat. Ins. 1058 The English [call it] Attercop, Spider, Spinner. 1691 Ray N. Countr. Wds. 139 Attercop. |
2. fig. Applied to a venomous malignant person.
| c 1505 Kennedie Flyting 523 Thow irefull attircop, Pilate, apostata. 1881 W. H. Patterson Antrim Gloss. (E.D.S.) Attercap, cross-grained, ill-natured person, ‘Ya cross attercap, ya.’ |
3. Misapplied to: A spider's web.
| 1530 Palsgr. 193/1 Addircop, or a spinner's web, araignee. 1674 Ray N. Countr. Wds. 3 An Attercob, A Spiders Web. Cumberland. 1873 R. Ferguson Cumberld. Dial. (E.D.S.). |