Although it may not sound all that wonderful when you hear it for the first time, one of the English words I love is “gossamer.”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “gossamer” (pronounced [ˈgɔsəmɚ] or [ˈgɒsəmɻ̩]) refers to “a fine filmy substance, consisting of cobwebs, spun by small spiders, which is seen floating in the air in calm weather, esp. in autumn, or spread over a grassy surface: occas. with a and pl., a thread or web of gossamer.” It is called zomerdraden in Dutch, sommartråd in Swedish and Sommerfäden in some German dialects, all meaning “summer threads.”

In extension, “gossamer” may denote anything that resembles it. A seemingly intangible herald of summer’s end, gossamer is often used in poetry as a metaphor for all things short-lived, especially in translations of Japanese works which abound with references to ephemeral existence, to ukiyo, the “Fleeting World.”

“Gossamer” originally referred to the last days of summer or summer-like days in the autumn. Originally it meant “goose summer” (Middle English gos(e)somer(e)), perhaps because of the down-like substances floating through the air.

I wonder why the Yiddish equivalent of “gossamer” is Erets-Yisroel-fedem , literally “Land of Israel threads.” I suspect a lovely story is behind this.