Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
GOSSAMER
ethereal, gossamer
(adjective) characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy; “this smallest and most ethereal of birds”; “gossamer shading through his playing”
diaphanous, filmy, gauzy, gauze-like, gossamer, see-through, sheer, transparent, vaporous, vapourous, cobwebby
(adjective) 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”
cobweb, gossamer
(noun) filaments from a web that was spun by a spider
gossamer
(noun) a gauze fabric with an extremely fine texture
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
gossamer (countable and uncountable, plural gossamers)
A fine film or strand as of cobwebs, floating in the air or caught on bushes, etc.
A soft, sheer fabric.
Anything delicate, light and flimsy.
Adjective
gossamer (comparative more gossamer, superlative most gossamer)
Tenuous, light, filmy or delicate.
Synonyms
• gossamery
• gossamer-thin
Source: Wiktionary
Gos"sa*mer, n. Etym: [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. Mädchensommer, Altweibersommer, fliegender Sommer, all meaning, gossamer.]
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.
2. Any very thin gauzelike fabric; also, a thin waterproof stuff.
3. An outer garment, made of waterproof gossamer. Gossamer spider (Zoöl.), any small or young spider which spins webs by which to sail in the air. See Ballooning spider.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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23 November 2024
THEORETICAL
(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”
Coffee Trivia
