Attercoppe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic English term for a spider, especially one regarded as venomous or repulsive
2. An obsolete word used in Middle English for a spider, often one thought to be poisonous
3. A historical name for the spider, used in older English writing to describe the creature

Etymology: Old English speakers called the spider an "ator-coppe," roughly "poison-head," and the name survived in northern English dialect as "attercop." The first element, "attor" or "ator," meant poison or venom and is related to the German "Eiter," meaning pus. The second element, "coppe," is linked to the "cop" in old words for a head or summit, and it probably described the spider's rounded body. Put together, the name pictures the spider as a venomous creature with a bulbous head.