Gossip.
[gos-uh p] noun, verb, -siped or -sipped, -sip⋅ing or -sip⋅ping.
–noun
1. idle talk or rumor, esp. about the personal or private affairs of others: the endless gossip about Hollywood stars.
2. light, familiar talk or writing.
3. Also, gos⋅sip⋅er, gos⋅sip⋅per. a person given to tattling or idle talk.
4. Chiefly British Dialect. a godparent.
5. Archaic. a friend, esp. a woman.
–verb (used without object)
6. to talk idly, esp. about the affairs of others; go about tattling.
–verb (used with object)
7. Chiefly British Dialect. to stand godparent to.
8. Archaic. to repeat like a gossip.
Origin:
bef. 1050; ME gossib, godsib(be), OE godsibb, orig. godparent, equiv. to god God + sibb related; see sib1
Related forms:
gos⋅sip⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Synonyms:
1. small talk, hearsay, palaver, chitchat. Gossip, scandal apply to idle talk and newsmongering about the affairs of others. Gossip is light chat or talk: to trade gossip about the neighbors. Scandal is rumor or general talk that is damaging to reputation; it is usually more or less malicious: The town never lived down the election scandal. 3. chatterer, talker, gabbler, rumormonger. 6. chatter, prattle, prate, palaver.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
I’ve written briefly about this before, kind of. I’ll explain it again differently so as to clarify.
Well, no, first I’ll start with a word study from dictionary.com.
Idle talk.
So, gossip is what you do when you have nothing real to talk about? Nothing of substance. You gossip when you have nothing of substance to talk about? Weird. But that makes sense. Because people are not comfortable with talking about their own lives (substance), they talk about the lives of others. They talk about what they do not have the right to talk about. Or perhaps because their own lives have nothing
of substance?
Perhaps this stems from politeness. Politeness has created the need for idle talk, I believe. When a person is not close enough to another to talk about anything of substance, politeness says that one cannot just sit there awkwardly. We’ve all experienced that, eh? So then develops idles talk and then develops gossip, maybe.
Light, familiar talk or writing.
Politeness. Hm. I’m not the biggest fan of politeness, you’ll find. It’s all politics. A lot of it is shady. Political politeness, formal formalities. There is a time and place, indeed, but… like anything, it can go too far and often does. I’m not the biggest fan of politeness, you’ll find.
Gossipper = a person given to tattling or idle talk.
Hm. Tattling? Tattling tends to refer to information that is relied that is privileged information, not allowed to be relied. Not that tattling is an absolute taboo. I’m a big fan of balance and moderation, you’ll find.
The synonyms are absolutely my favorite part, so I’ll relay them again:
Idle talk or rumor, esp. about the personal or private affairs of others: Small talk, hearsay, palaver, chitchat. Gossip, scandal apply to idle talk and newsmongering about the affairs of others. Gossip is light chat or talk: to trade gossip about the neighbors. Scandal is rumor or general talk that is damaging to reputation; it is usually more or less malicious: The town never lived down the election scandal.
Gos⋅sip⋅er, gos⋅sip⋅per. a person given to tattling or idle talk: Chatterer, talker, gabbler, rumormonger.
To talk idly, esp. about the affairs of others; go about tattling
Chatter, prattle, prate, palaver.
So… gossip is non-substantial conversation material that is “light chat or talk.” Scandal is damaging to reputation. Hey, kids, no such things as synonyms! Gossip isn’t what we think of. Of. Hm. We tend to think of gossip as damaging. Scandal is damaging. Gossip is the political politeness one reverts to when there is nothing else to say, when one is not secure enough to talk honestly about themselves. Gossip has since become the scandal.
Before I move on to the final thesis of this note (my personal opinion, philosophy, and strategy in regards to gossip), another word study!
Idle talk.
noun
idle or foolish and irrelevant talk [syn: prate]
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Prate.
[preyt] verb, prat⋅ed, prat⋅ing, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to talk excessively and pointlessly; babble: They prated on until I was ready to scream.
–verb (used with object)
2. to utter in empty or foolish talk: to prate absurdities with the greatest seriousness.
–noun
3. act of prating.
4. empty or foolish talk.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME praten (v.) < MD praeten. See prattle
Related forms:
prater, noun
prat⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
My personal opinion, philosophy, and strategy in regards to gossip.
Or scandal.
My personal strategy (opinion, philosophy) has always been this: If Alvin tells me something about Miranda that I otherwise would not have known (ie something I would not have been able to gather from my own intuition or observation), it is my philosophy that I cannot morally share that with anyone else, especially Miranda and
anyone that knows her.
I do believe that is the most simply (simplest?) I’ve ever explained that. Hm. I’m becoming more… um… concise? Likely story. >.>
That has always been my personal strategy, at least since I was “old enough” to be involved in such confrontations of what to say, who to tell, what to say to whom, etc.
Recently (like, two days ago), I realized that my personal strategy can be applied in reverse. Inverse? Converse? That was my favorite part of geometry, but I don’t remember the difference.
If Alvin tells me something about Miranda that, through logic, I otherwise would not have known (ie something I would not have been able to gather from my own intuition or observation), it is my new, amended philosophy that I will not treat that gossiped information with as much weight as my own personal intuition or observation, objective information.
This made more sense in my head, I promise. Perhaps it will make as much sense to you as it did in my head.
Thesis Statement! Conclusion!
Essentially, if you tell me something about someone else that I have not observed or intuited on my own, I will listen and I will take it in and I will consider it, but I will not give it much weight.
I suppose that’s more like the converse? Applying my non-gossip philosophy to the gossip I hear from others? Sure. Converse.
Have a great day!
:]
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