What does gossamer mean?
Word: Gossamer
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Gossamer means the very fine threads that small spiders spin, which float in still air. It can also describe anything light and delicate.
Word origin: A Middle English word, in use since about the 1300s.
How do you spell gossamer?
Syllables: gos - sa - mer
Tricky part: The double s is the slip: the first beat of the word is so quick that students write gosamer.
Watch out for: gosamer, gosammer
Memory tip: Picture two silk threads side by side: one s for each thread.
Gossamer in a sentence
Example 1: Dew turned the gossamer across the tea bushes into strings of tiny beads.
Example 2: A gossamer curtain stirred at the open window of Nani's room.
Example 3: Every autumn, threads of gossamer drift across the fields near my village.
Fun Fact
The name probably comes from goose summer, an old name for a mild spell in late autumn when these threads are often seen.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order:
o, a, e
a) c_ns_m_r
b) g_ss_m_r
c) p_ss_ng_r
d) m_ss_ng_r
Show answer
b) g_ss_m_r. The vowels o, a, e complete gossamer; passenger, messenger and consumer need other vowels.
Spell Probe
One word in the sentence is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word:
At sunrise, a tangle of gossammer shimmered on the hedge while a sparrow perched on the old wooden gatepost.
a) an upright support at a garden entrance
b) a row of bushes that forms a boundary
c) shone with a soft, trembling light
d) silk so fine that it drifts on the faintest breeze
Show answer
d) silk so fine that it drifts on the faintest breeze. The misspelt word has one m too many; it names the spider silk in the sentence.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ss' pronounced differently?
a) blossom
b) lesson
c) pressure
d) gossamer
Show answer
c) pressure. Pressure has a sh sound here; the rest keep a plain s sound.
Word Tally
Give 3 marks for each misspelt word. How many marks in all?
gossamer, filiment, translucent, delicate, velvit
a) 9
b) 3
c) 12
d) 6
Show answer
d) 6. Filament and velvet are the two slips, so the total is 6.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A poet writes of a gossamer veil. What is the poet asking you to imagine?
a) how long it would last through the years
b) how little it would weigh in the hand
c) how brightly it would shine at night
d) how warm it would feel in the winter
Show answer
b) how little it would weigh in the hand
2. Why does gossamer show up so clearly on a dewy morning?
a) the drops catch the light along each thread
b) the wet grass turns the threads bright green
c) the cool air makes the threads stiff and thick
d) the damp air makes the threads grow longer
Show answer
a) the drops catch the light along each thread
