![]() The 20th century Yiddish term yenta-also spelled yente-means both "a gossiping woman" and "a vulgar or aggressive woman." (If you’re interested in some gender balance, there is no male equivalent apparently, but there is the male-oriented Yiddish gem schmuck, for a fool or a jerk, and it literally means "penis.” Ha!) silly nonsense that flowed from the mouth. This 1800s French word sounds fancy, but it, too, simply means "idle talk." (Seems every country and culture needed to classify this type of "talk" in some way.) But, here’s a fun note: It’s rooted in the word bave, which means “drivel,” and the earliest definition of drivel is “spittle flowing from the mouth.” Later, in the 1800s, drivel came to mean silly nonsense. In today’s culture, neighborhood hair salons and barbershops, coffee shops, or the modern scuttlebutt-the water cooler-offer the perks whilst dishing the news. As with the communal fire pit, this place of gathering provided an environment natural for the exchange of news and hearsay. A butt was another term for a barrel, with a scuttlebutt in particular being a barrel of drinking water around which sailors would gather. Scuttlebutt is used even today when referring to gossip, though it’s rooted in early seafaring lingo. “A busiebody burns his own fingers,” wrote the minister and commentator Samuel Palmer in 1710. Gossip can be seriously harsh sometimes.įirst used in the 1500s, busybody is "a meddlesome, prying person, who inserts themselves into other people’s affairs." The intake of gossip fuels their officious ways. The English definition of clash("to make a loud, harsh noise") could easily be derived from the Scottish meaning, in our opinion. Clash on meant to “tell tales on,” and was probably done by a right nasty clashbag. Simply put.Īnother fun old Scottish term (1700–1800s) for "idle chat" is clishmaclaver (and clashmaclaver), with the shortened clash also recorded. And so, a clattern (or clatteran) was one who clattered. "Get with the times, quidnunc."Īn old Scots term for gossip was clatter, which meant "to gossip or chatter on." In fact, we adopted that definition and use clatter this way in the English language too. ![]() In the early 1700s, quidnunc was another gossip-themed noun that surfaced, describing "a person of idle chatter." From the Latin quid nunc?, meaning "what now?," the word evolved into something a bit more generous, implying that this is an inquisitive person who has some outdated news. We're casting a vote to bring this one back into our everyday lexicon. Sometimes words evolve very slowly, but when they leave behind gems like twaddle basket, a 1600s word for "a gossipmonger," it couldn't be a better surprise. Tattle-tale, from tittle-tattle, from twiddle-twaddle. no wonder there are all of these words for gossip. Don't you want to know what it is? See, enticing tidbits are intriguing. And, our next ridiculous word is derived from this term, too. ![]() Pretty fun to say, no? It also is an early version of tattle-tale. Examples: fashionmonger, hatemonger, or our least favorite monger, the wordmonger.Īnother early term-from the 1500s-is tittle-tattle, used as a verb for the action of gossip and as a noun for both the gossiping person and the idle talk itself. Just tack on monger to any word, and you'll be able to create a new contemptible descriptor for your biggest foe. The word monger("a person who is involved with something in a petty or contemptible way") is centuries old-going back to the 1200s-and is still in heavy use today. ![]() According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word originated around 1014 to mean a godmother or godfather, and came from the Old English godsibb, which had the same meaning.Īround the same time or slightly earlier, gossip gained the familiar meaning of someone “of light and trifling character” who“delights in idle talk” while the term came to refer to idle talk itself around 1811.įirst used in the early 1800s, gossipmonger(meaning "a person who trades in gossip and rumors") saw exposure after earlier synonyms like fishmonger and newsmonger gained popularity. The word gossip didn’t always refer to a rumormonger. A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts. Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature.Ģ.
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