gossamer

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The Word of the Day for November 1 is:=20

gossamer   \GAH-suh-mer\   adjective
          : extremely light, delicate, or tenuous

Example sentence:
          The early morning mists formed gossamer trails through the val=
ley, their frail beauty a stark contrast to the dark, forbidding forest =
that loomed behind them.

Did you know?
          In the days of Middle English, a period of mild weather in lat=
e autumn or early winter was sometimes called a "gossomer," literally "g=
oose summer." People may have chosen that name for a late-season warm sp=
ell because October and November were the months when people felt that g=
eese were at their best for eating. =E2=80=9CGossomer" was also used in =
Middle English as a word for filmy cobwebs floating through the air in c=
alm clear weather, apparently because somebody thought the webs looked l=
ike the down of a goose. This sense eventually inspired the adjective =E2=
=80=9Cgossamer,=E2=80=9D which means =E2=80=9Clight, delicate, or tenuou=
s=E2=80=9D -- just like cobwebs or goose down.





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