Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Extremely light, delicate, and insubstantial: Describes something so fine and thin it seems almost intangible or ethereal.
   • So thin as to be transparent or translucent: Describes a material or fabric that is very sheer and allows light to pass through easily.

2. Noun:

   • A fine, filmy substance consisting of cobwebs spun by small spiders: The delicate threads that float in the air or are seen on grass, especially on autumn mornings.
   • A very light, gauze-like fabric: A type of cloth with an extremely fine and delicate texture.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:

  • The bride wore a veil of gossamer silk. (The bride's veil was made of an extremely fine and delicate silk.)
  • The morning light shone through the gossamer curtains. (The light passed easily through the very sheer curtains.)

• Noun:

  • Fields were covered in gossamer after the mist cleared. (The fields were covered with fine spider webs.)
  • The gown was made from a beautiful, airy gossamer. (The dress was crafted from a very light, gauzy fabric.)

Advanced Usage

• Used metaphorically to describe something delicate or fleeting:
  • The composer captured a gossamer quality in the music's softest passages. (The composer captured a very delicate and ethereal feeling in the quiet parts of the music.)
  • Her argument was built on gossamer threads of speculation. (Her argument was constructed from very flimsy and insubstantial ideas.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gossamery (adjective): Having the qualities of gossamer; very light and delicate.
  • The dress had a gossamery texture that felt like air.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Diaphanous, filmy, gauzy, sheer, transparent, ethereal, delicate, airy, insubstantial.
• Noun: Cobweb, filament, gauze, chiffon.

Related Phrases

• "A gossamer thread": Often used literally for a single strand of spider's web, or metaphorically for a very thin, fragile connection.
  • A single gossamer thread was all that connected the two branches.
  • Their friendship hung by a gossamer thread after the argument.

Related Idioms

• "As light as gossamer": Used to describe something with very little weight or substance.
  • The pastry was as light as gossamer. (The pastry was extremely light and airy.)

Adjective

1. so thin as to transmit light
   • a hat with a diaphanous veil
   • filmy wings of a moth
   • gauzy clouds of dandelion down
   • gossamer cobwebs
   • sheer silk stockings
   • transparent chiffon
   • vaporous silks
2. characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
   • this smallest and most ethereal of birds
   • gossamer shading through his playing

Noun

1. filaments from a web that was spun by a spider
2. a gauze fabric with an extremely fine texture