I. ˈgäsə̇p noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English godsib, gossib, from Old English godsibb, from god + sibb kinsman, from sibb, adjective, related — more at god , sib
1. now dialect chiefly Britain : a person spiritually related to another through being his sponsor at baptism
2. : a friend or comrade : companion , crony
a gossip of his laughed when I refused the halfpenny — W.B.Yeats
taking presents of … strawberries to the Queen and the Princess's other gossips — Edith Sitwell
3. : a person who habitually retails facts, rumors, or behind-the-scenes information of an intimate, personal, or sensational nature : rumormonger
the worst gossip in town
the syndicated movie gossips — Newsweek
4.
a. : rumor, report, tattle, or behind-the-scenes information especially of an intimate or personal nature
common rumor or gossip profoundly influences the conclusions of many people — Edward Jenks
gossip columns … gleefully speculate upon prospective divorces among the well-known — D.L.Cohn
b.
(1) : a conversation in which gossip is exchanged
settled down for what she hoped would be a gossip , but thought of as a nice chat — Monica Stirling
a woman standing in her doorway for a gossip — Winefride Nolan
(2) : light familiar chatty talk or writing
these reminiscences of a once brilliant court are excellent gossip
certain recent gossip in intellectual circles — Eleanor M. Sickels
I went back … in high hopes of hearing good hunting gossip — S.P.B.Mais
c. : the subject matter of gossip
the power, ambition, and immense personal prestige of individuals like these … were common gossip — H.S.Bennett
5. : a humorous party pastime in which a sentence or anecdote is whispered from one person to the next around the group and the final version compared with the original statement
II. verb
( gossiped also gossipped ; gossiped also gossipped ; gossiping also gossipping ; gossips )
intransitive verb
: to converse idly
don't intend to gossip about my sickness — Lillian Hellman
a group of students gossiping — John Berger
especially : to retail facts, rumors, or behind-the-scenes information about other persons
must have gossiped about the beauty of the Queen's daughter — J.E.M.White
gossips about the doings of the town — Cornelius Weygandt
transitive verb
: to tell or transmit by way of gossip
gossiped from one village to the next — Ernest Beaglehole