While a large, honking goose might not call to mind a diaphanous, filmy gossamer material, they are related. The noun (and sometimes adjective) “gossamer” may have come from the Middle English term “goose summer,” from the time of year around “St Martin’s summer,” or late October and early November, when geese were typically eaten. Today, it describes the spiderwebs seen around that time of year, or any such thin, light, floaty material.