gossamer

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡɒ.sə.mə/ (UK); /ˈɡɑ.sə.mɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English gossomer, apparently a compound of Middle English gos (“goose”) and Middle English somer (“summer”).^[2][3][4] The word is not found in Old English.^[2] Random House suggests it may first have named a mild spell in late autumn, when goose was a favoured dish, and was then transferred to the cobwebs common at that season;^[5] Etymonline likewise thinks this more likely than a supposed likeness of the threads to goose down,^[2] and American Heritage links it to the abundance of gossamer in early autumn, when geese are in season.^[3] Compare obsolete Scots go-summer, a spell of summer-like weather in late autumn.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest sense is the fine film of spider threads that floats in the air or lies on stubble and grass in calm weather, especially in autumn.^[2][6][5]

Semantic evolution

From the cobweb itself the word was applied figuratively to anything light and flimsy by about 1400.^[2][6] In the 19th century it became a name for a very fine gauze used for veils,^[2][6][5] and in the United States for a light waterproof garment.^[6][5] An adjective meaning “light and delicate as gossamer” developed in the early 1800s.^[2][6][4]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – first recorded, for floating cobweb threads.^[2]
• c. 1325 – OED’s first quotation for this sense.^[6]
• c. 1400 – figurative use for anything light or flimsy.^[2][6]
• 1802 – used attributively; the adjective is dated 1802 by Etymonline,^[2] c. 1807 by Merriam-Webster^[4] and 1806–7 by the OED.^[6]
• 1837 – a kind of fine gauze for veils.^[2]
• 1872 – OED’s first quotation for the gauze sense.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A filmy web of spider threads drifting in the air or caught on plants.^[3][4][5][1]
2. A thin, sheer, gauzy fabric.^[3][5][1]
3. Anything delicate, light or insubstantial.^[3][4][5]

Adjective

1. Very light, fine or tenuous.^[3][4][1]

Word family

• gossamery

Related words

• goose
• summer

References

1. [1] [2] [3] [4] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press