What does "gossamer" mean?
A fine film made up of cobwebs, seen floating in the air or caught on bushes, etc.
Gossamer
/ˈɡɒ.sə.mə/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A fine film made up of cobwebs, seen floating in the air or caught on bushes, etc.
- Grammar: gossamer is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: cobweb, air, airiness, airy.
- Useful contrasts: coarse, coarseness, dense cloth.
- Usage evidence: In this belief Lucy reposed her hope, and went on weaving her enchanted web of fairy tissue, as beautiful and transient as the film of the gossamer when it is pearled with the morning dew and glimmering to the sun.
How to use "gossamer"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gossamer" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gossamer" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gossamer" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gossamer" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gossamer" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cobweb" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gossamer", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A fine film made up of cobwebs, seen floating in the air or caught on bushes, etc. countable, uncountable
"A lover may bestride the gossamer / That idles in the wanton summer air, / And yet not fall; so light is vanity."
- 2 filaments from a web that was spun by a spider wordnet
- 3 A soft, sheer fabric. countable, uncountable
"Madame wiped the picture with her gossamer handkerchief and impulsively pressed a tender kiss upon the painted canvas."
- 4 a gauze fabric with an extremely fine texture wordnet
- 5 Anything delicate, light and flimsy. countable, figuratively, uncountable
Adjective
- 1 Tenuous, light, filmy or delicate.
"There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute, which goes directly to the heart of him who has had frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man."
Adjective
- 1 characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy wordnet
- 2 so thin as to transmit light wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"In this belief Lucy reposed her hope, and went on weaving her enchanted web of fairy tissue, as beautiful and transient as the film of the gossamer when it is pearled with the morning dew and glimmering to the sun."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gossamer"?
Common synonyms include: cobweb, air, airiness, airy, animal fiber, artificial fiber.
How do you use "gossamer" in a sentence?
In this belief Lucy reposed her hope, and went on weaving her enchanted web of fairy tissue, as beautiful and transient as the film of the gossamer when it is pearled with the morning dew and glimmering to the sun.
How do you pronounce "gossamer"?
Pronounced /ˈɡɒ.sə.mə/.
Etymology
From Middle English gossomer, gosesomer, gossummer (attested since around 1300, and only in reference to webs or other light things), usually thought to derive from gos (“goose”) + somer (“summer”) and to have initially referred to a period of warm weather in late autumn when geese were eaten — compare Middle Scots goesomer, goe-summer (“summery weather in late autumn; St Martin's summer”) and dialectal English go-harvest, both later connected in folk-etymology to go — and to have been transferred to cobwebs because they were frequent then or because they were likened to goose-down. Skeat says that in Craven the webs were called summer-goose, and compares Scots and dialectal English use of summer-colt in reference to "exhalations seen rising from the ground in hot weather". Weekley notes that both the webs and the weather have fantastical names in most European languages: compare German Altweibersommer (“Indian summer; cobwebs, gossamer”, literally “old wives' summer”) and other terms listed there.