Gossamer

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Gossamer \Gos"sa*mer\, n. [OE. gossomer, gossummer, gosesomer,
     perh. for goose summer, from its downy appearance, or perh.
     for God's summer, cf. G. mariengarr gossamer, properly Mary's
     yarn, in allusion to the Virgin Mary. Perhaps the E. word
     alluded to a legend that the gossamer was the remnant of the
     Virgin Mary's winding sheet, which dropped from her when she


     was taken up to heaven. For the use of summer in the sense of
     film or threads, cf. G. M[aum]dchensommer, Altweibersommer,
     fliegender Sommer, all meaning, gossamer.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A fine, filmy substance, like cobwebs, floating in the
        air, in calm, clear weather, especially in autumn. It is
        seen in stubble fields and on furze or low bushes, and is
        formed by small spiders.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Any very thin gauzelike fabric; also, a thin waterproof
        stuff.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. An outer garment, made of waterproof gossamer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Gossamer spider} (Zool.), any small or young spider which
        spins webs by which to sail in the air. See {Ballooning
        spider}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  gossamer
       adj 1: characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy; "this
              smallest and most ethereal of birds"; "gossamer
              shading through his playing" [syn: {ethereal}]
       2: 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" [syn: {diaphanous},
           {filmy}, {gauzy}, {see-through}, {sheer}, {transparent},
          {vaporous}, {cobwebby}]
       n 1: a gauze fabric with an extremely fine texture
       2: filaments from a cobweb [syn: {cobweb}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  134 Moby Thesaurus words for "gossamer":
     air, airy, animal fiber, artificial fiber, attenuate, attenuated,
     boyish, bubble, cambric tea, capillament, chaff, chip, cilium,
     cirrus, clear, clear as crystal, cobweb, cork, crystal,
     crystal-clear, crystalline, dainty, delicate, denier, diaphane,
     diaphanous, diluted, dishwater, down, downy, dust, ether, ethereal,
     fairy, feather, fiber, fibrilla, filament, filamentule, filmy,
     fine, fine-drawn, fine-grained, finespun, flagellum, flimsy, flue,
     fluff, fluffy, foam, frail, froth, fuzz, fuzzy, gauzy, girlish,
     gossamery, gracile, gruel, hair, hank, house of cards,
     insubstantial, lacy, light, light-pervious, limpid, lucid,
     matchwood, milk and water, misty, mote, nonopaque, papery,
     peekaboo, pellucid, pubescent, rare, rarefied, reed, refined,
     revealing, rope of sand, sand castle, satin, satiny, see-through,
     sheer, silky, skein, slender, slenderish, slight, slight-made,
     slim, slimmish, slinky, small, smooth, sponge, spume, strand,
     straw, subtle, suture, svelte, sylphlike, tendril, tenuous, thin,
     thin-bodied, thin-set, thin-spun, thinnish, thistledown, thread,
     threadlet, threadlike, transparent, transpicuous, unclouded, vague,
     velutinous, velvety, wasp-waisted, water, watered, watered-down,
     watery, weak, web, willowy, wiredrawn, wispy