Andrea Parke
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In the days of Middle English, a period of mild weather in late autumn or early winter was sometimes called a gossomer, literally "goose summer." People may have chosen that name for a late-season warm spell because October and November were the months when people felt that geese were at their best for eating. Gossomer was also used in Middle English as a word for filmy cobwebs floating through the air in calm, clear weather, apparently because somebody thought the webs looked like the down of a goose. This sense eventually inspired the adjective gossamer, which means "light, delicate, or tenuous"—just like cobwebs or goose down.
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Examples of gossamer in a Sentence
Ashley Bardhan, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024
So what is this rusty brown gossamer of a space cloud?
—Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 17 May 2024
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
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gossamer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Gossamer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gossamer. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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