gossamer

English

WOTD – 19 January 2006

Etymology

From Middle English gossomer, from gos (“goose”) + somer (“summer”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɒ.sə.mə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑ.sə.mɚ/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

gossamer (countable and uncountable, plural gossamers)

1. A fine film or strand as of cobwebs, floating in the air or caught on bushes, etc.
2. A soft, sheer fabric.
3. Anything delicate, light and flimsy.

Derived terms

• gossamery (adjective)
• gossamer-thin (adjective)

Translations

cobwebs floating in the air

• Bulgarian: есенна паяжина f (esenna pajažina)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 游絲 (zh), 游丝 (zh) (yóusī), 蛛絲 (zh), 蛛丝 (zh) (zhūsī)

• Czech: babí léto (cs) n
• Dutch: herfstdraad m (usually in the plural: herfstdraden)
• Finnish: harso (fi), seitti (fi)
• French: fil de la vierge m, fils de la Vierge (fr)
• German: Altweiberfäden pl or m, Flugfäden pl or m
• Hungarian: ökörnyál (hu)
• Irish: téada an phúca f pl

• Japanese: 流れ糸 (nagareito), 遊糸 (yuushi)
• Korean: 거미줄 (geomijul)
• Manx: sneeuane
• Polish: babie lato (pl) n
• Romanian: funigel (ro)
• Russian: паути́нка (ru) f (pautínka), паути́на (ru) f (pautína)
• Scottish Gaelic: croisean Moire f pl, gaoir-theas m
• Serbo-Croatian: bablje ljeto n
• Swedish: spindelväv n
• Welsh: gwawn m, tidau'r tes m pl, blew Medi m pl, drifl y gwynt m, drifl yr ych m, hifryn m

a soft, sheer fabric

• Bulgarian: воал (bg) m (voal)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 薄紗 (zh), 薄纱 (zh) (báoshā)

• Dutch: ragfijn weefsel
• Finnish: harso (fi), seitti (fi)

• Hungarian: fátyolszövet (hu)
• Japanese: 薄い紗 (usui shiya)
• Russian: газ (ru) m (gaz), ткань (ru) f (tkanʹ)
• Swedish: flor (sv) n
• Welsh: meinwe (cy) f

anything delicate, light, flimsy

• Dutch: delicaat (nl)

• Japanese: 流れ糸のように繊細なかぼそい，はかないもの ((nagareito no you ni)sensai na[kabosoi，hakanai]mono)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: flodder(tje)

Adjective

gossamer (comparative more gossamer, superlative most gossamer)

1. Tenuous, light, filmy or delicate.
   • 1857, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Daisy's Necklace: And What Came of It

     The heaven was spangled with tremulous stars, and at the horizon the clouds hung down in gossamer folds—God's robe trailing in the sea!

   • 1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

     He walked. To the corner of Hamilton Place and Picadilly, and there stayed for a while, for it is a romantic station by night. The vague and careless rain looked like threads of gossamer silver passing across the light of the arc-lamps.

Synonyms

• gossamery
• gossamer-thin

Translations

tenuous, light, filmy or delicate

• Finnish: seitinohut, harsomainen
• Ido: filandra (io)
• Italian: sottile (it), delicato (it)

• Maori: angiangi
• Russian: то́нкий (ru) (tónkij)
• Welsh: ysgafn (cy), main (cy), gwawnaidd