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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
Florence Ion / Gizmodo, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
By the late 1980s, the players were treated like celebrities – and gossip writers had a field day when Canseco was linked romantically with pop superstar Madonna in 1991.
—Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024
The gossip in Westminster says that probably that means mid-November: a British encore, to follow the main event in the U.S.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Kate, on the other hand, had been out of view, leading to weeks of speculation and gossip.
—arkansasonline.com, 22 Mar. 2024
At first blush, a headline Reba McEntire posted to her Instagram account looked like a salacious tidbit from a gossip magazine.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2024
Best Restaurants The Fox Located in the historic Avondale neighborhood, The Fox exudes diner vibes with its long counter, swivel stools, open kitchen, town gossip, and wall-to-wall pop culture memorabilia.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 20 Mar. 2024
Last week, grainy photos of Catherine riding in a car with her mother surfaced on the American celebrity gossip site TMZ.
—Mark Landler, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024
No one wants to work for a company that gossips about them once they are gone.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2024
Having to fire someone is hard enough, but one sure way to show a bad example to your employees is to gossip about the person who was fired.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The chatter sounds a lot like adolescents gossiping about who’s dating who.
—Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024
Tight-knit, patriarchal and deeply religious, the whole village is aware of everyone else’s business — and that leads to gossip percolating in every corner.
—Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 20 Mar. 2024
However, the company does not shy away from its reputation as a place that gives employees all over the world a digital space to gossip.
—Ryan MacAsero, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024
The lone pub in Twin Peaks where everyone gets together to gossip, side-eye each other, and carry on torrid affairs is technically called The Bang Bang Bar, but locals call it The Roadhouse.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 16 Mar. 2024
Well, according to the latest research, gossiping may not be all that bad.
—Ryan MacAsero, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024
Vinny gets called out for being a big baby and running to tell on Angelina for gossiping about Pauly D. He and Angelina become mortal enemies.
—Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gossip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Gossip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gossip. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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