gossip
gossip Lexical Profile
gossip Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true.
"She refused to listen to office gossip about her colleagues' private lives."
A person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others.
"The neighborhood gossip knew about the family's move before anyone else on the street."
• verb
To engage in casual or unconstrained conversation or spread unverified reports about other people.
"They spent the entire lunch break gossiping about the upcoming management changes."
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English godsibb, meaning 'godparent' (literally 'a relative in God', from God + sibb 'kinsman'). In Middle English, the meaning shifted from a spiritual sponsor at a baptism to a close female friend invited to attend a birth, and eventually to the idle chatter shared among such friends.