Andrea Parke
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Centuries before its breezy emergence as an adjective meaning "extremely light or delicate," gossamer was used as a noun. It came to our language by way of Middle English, where gossomer (literally "goose summer") referred to a period of mild weather in late autumn or early winter. Gossomer was also used in Middle English as a word for filmy cobwebs floating through the air in calm, clear weather, possibly because somebody thought the webs looked like the down of a goose or because that mild period was when they tended to notice the spider silk wafting. This sense eventually inspired the adjective gossamer, which describes things that are as light or delicate as cobwebs. The noun form of gossamer is still floating around: it has held onto its Middle English predecessor’s meaning of "a film of cobwebs" and can also refer to something that is light, delicate, or insubstantial, as in "a thread of gossamer."
Examples of gossamer in a Sentence
Drew Zieff, Outside Online, 27 June 2025
Skinner toes a gossamer line of attempting to understand the root of Roger’s pain, but stops short of rubber-stamping his bigotry and entitlement.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 13 June 2025
Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 7 May 2020
For her label Anissa Aida, designer Anissa Meddeb, who lives in the capital, makes gossamer silk blouses evoking the striped motif of handwoven fouta towels and voluminous coats inspired by the burnoose cloaks worn by Berbers.
—Sarah Khan, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Feb. 2020
See All Example Sentences for gossamer
Cite this Entry
“Gossamer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gossamer. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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