Did you know?
Merriam-Webster here, your one and only source for the juicy history of the English lexicon (including gossip, girl). It’s no secret that gossiping often involves discussing the intimate details of other people’s lives, but did you know that the origins of gossip are a bit more chummy, and even a tad divine? Word on the street is that the Old English word sibb, meaning “relative” or “kinsman,” long ago combined with the word god (meaning, well, “god”) to form godsibb, which referred to a person who was spiritually related to another, specifically by being a baptismal sponsor. Today we call such a person a godparent. Over the centuries, godsibb changed both in form and in meaning. In Middle English, gossib came to be used for a close friend or chum as well as for a godparent. From there it was only a short step to gossip, a word for anyone—not just a friend, relative, or sponsor—known for spilling the tea. By the early 17th century, gossip had expanded into the verb use that has been the talk of the town ever since.
Did you know?
Old English sibb, meaning “relative” or “kinsman,” came from the adjective sibb, “related by blood” (the ancestor of modern English sibling). Old English godsibb was a person spiritually related to another, specifically by being a sponsor at baptism. Today we call such a person a godparent. Over the centuries, godsibb changed both in form and in meaning. Middle English gossib came to be used for a close friend or crony as well as for a godparent. From there it was only a short step to the gossip of today, a person no longer necessarily friend, relative, or sponsor, but someone filled with irresistible tidbits of rumor.
Synonyms
Examples of gossip in a Sentence
Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
Cher and Bill wound up at a hotel and checked in around 4 a.m. into separate rooms to keep any unwanted gossip about her and Bono away — but wound up sleeping together.
—Marina Watts, People.com, 4 Dec. 2024
Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024
With a trip to Bali two days away and tensions remaining high, the women are naturally gossiping about how to logistically navigate women who cannot help but get into it with each other the second a Champagne flute touches her lips, with voice messages and FaceTime calls abound.
—Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 July 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Gossip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gossip. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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