The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Cobweb \Cob"web`\, n. [Cob a spider + web.]
1. The network spread by a spider to catch its prey.
[1913 Webster]
2. A snare of insidious meshes designed to catch the ignorant
and unwary.
[1913 Webster]
I can not but lament thy splendid wit
Entangled in the cobwebs of the schools. --Cowper.
[1913 Webster]
3. That which is thin and unsubstantial, or flimsy and
worthless; rubbish.
[1913 Webster]
The dust and cobwebs of that uncivil age. --Sir P.
Sidney.
[1913 Webster]
4. (Zool.) The European spotted flycatcher.
[1913 Webster]
Cobweb lawn, a fine linen, mentioned in 1640 as being in
pieces of fifteen yards. --Beck. Draper's Dict.
[1913 Webster]
Such a proud piece of cobweb lawn. --Beau. & Fl.
Cobweb micrometer, a micrometer in which threads of cobweb
are substituted for wires.
[1913 Webster]