The Collaborative International Dictionary
Attercop \At"ter*cop\, n. [AS. attercoppa a spider; [=ae]tter poison + coppa head, cup.]
A spider. [Obs.]
A peevish, ill-natured person. [North of Eng.]
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"spider," Old English attorcoppe, literally "poison-head," from ator "poison, venom," from Proto-Germanic *aitra- "poisonous ulcer" (cognates: Old Norse eitr, Old High German eitar "poison;" German eiter "pus," Old High German eiz "abscess, boil;" Old English atorcræft "art of poisoning") + copp "top, summit, round head," probably also "spider" (compare cobweb and Dutch spinne-cop "spider").\n\nAmptes & attircoppes & suche oþer þat ben euere bisy ben maide to schewe man ensaumple of stodye & labour.
[Elucidarium of Honorius of Autun (Wycliffite version) c.1400]
Wiktionary
n. 1 ''(obsolete except in dialects)'' A spider. 2 ''(obsolete except in dialects)'' A peevish or ill-natured person.
Usage examples of "attercop".
Quite apart from the stones no spider has ever liked being called Attercop, and Tomnoddy of course is insulting to anybody.
Why when he was her age, he used to fry attercops with a magnifying glass.