Gossip

Gossip, sub. a sponsor; v. t. to christen

Gossip

This article is about the type of conversation. For other uses, see Gossip (disambiguation).

"Tattle" redirects here. Not to be confused with Tattletale (disambiguation), Tattler (disambiguation), or Tatle (disambiguation).

Etymology

Look up gossip in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The word is from Old English godsibb, from god and sibb, the term for the godparents of one's child or the parents of one's godchild, generally very close friends.

In the 16th century, the word assumed the meaning of a person, mostly a woman, one who delights in idle talk, a newsmonger, a tattler.^[5]

In the early 19th century, the term was extended from the talker to the conversation of such persons.

The verb to gossip, meaning "to be a gossip", first appears in Shakespeare.

The term originates from the bedroom at the time of childbirth.

Giving birth used to be a social event exclusively attended by women.

The pregnant woman's female relatives and neighbours would congregate and idly converse.

Over time, gossip came to mean talk of others.^[6]

Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling.^[1]

Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology,^[2] which has found gossip to be an important means for people to monitor cooperative reputations and so maintain widespread indirect reciprocity.^[3]

Indirect reciprocity is a social interaction in which one actor helps another and is then benefited by a third party.

Gossip has also been identified by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary biologist, as aiding social bonding in large groups.^[4]