gossamer
/ˈɡɒ.sə.mə/
"gossamer" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gossamer” is uncommon English (frequency #56,777 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #56,777
- frequency rank, English
- 2,313
- “G” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fine film made up of cobwebs, seen floating in the air or caught on bushes, etc.
Corpus desk
Index EN-gossamer · gossamer · English
gossamer · rank #56,777 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #56,777
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,313
- PHOTO-FINISH gorgeously
Nearest frequency peer: gorgeously (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “gossamer”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- gimmicky
gimmicky
43,226 corpus weight
- gorgeously
gorgeously
43,225 corpus weight
- gossamer
gossamer
43,224 corpus weight
- gramercy
gramercy
43,223 corpus weight
- Grillo
Grillo
43,220 corpus weight
- gruel
gruel
43,219 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “gossamer” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gossamer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɡɒ.sə.mə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #56,777 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “gossamer” in English
Rare enough to double-check
gossamer is uncommon English at frequency #56,777 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡɒ.sə.mə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
gossamer doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English gossomer, gosesomer, gossummer (attested since around 1300, and only in reference to webs or other light things), usually thought to derive from gos (“goose”) + somer (“summer”) and to have initially referred to a period of warm weather … The correct English form is gossamer, spelled G-O-S-S-A-M-E-R.
Definition
- 1A fine film made up of cobwebs, seen floating in the air or caught on bushes, etc.
- 2A soft, sheer fabric.
- 3Anything delicate, light and flimsy.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how gossamer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
A lover may bestride the gossamer / That idles in the wanton summer air, / And yet not fall; so light is vanity.
The filmy Gossamer now flitts no more,
Etymology
From Middle English gossomer, gosesomer, gossummer (attested since around 1300, and only in reference to webs or other light things), usually thought to derive from gos (“goose”) + somer (“summer”) and to have initially referred to a period of warm weather in late autumn when geese were eaten — compare Middle Scots goesomer, goe-summer (“summery weather in late autumn; St Martin's summer”) and dialectal English go-harvest, both later connected in folk-etymology to go — and to have been transferred to cobwebs because they were frequent then or because they were likened to goose-down. Skeat says that in Craven the webs were called summer-goose, and compares Scots and dialectal English use of summer-colt in reference to "exhalations seen rising from the ground in hot weather". Weekley notes that both the webs and the weather have fantastical names in most European languages: compare German Altweibersommer (“Indian summer; cobwebs, gossamer”, literally “old wives' summer”) and other terms listed there.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "gossamer"?
What does "gossamer" mean?
How do you pronounce "gossamer"?
What is the origin of the word "gossamer"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gossamer", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).