gossiper

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈɡɑsəpɚ/ UK /ˈɡɒsɪpə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a person who habitually spreads idle talk or rumors about others

The office gossiper knew everyone's business within a day.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who habitually... gossipmongertattlertalebearerbusybodyrumormongerblabbermouth

Word family

Related forms gossipgossipygossiping

Etymology

Agent noun from gossip, from Old English godsibb ('godparent, sponsor at baptism'), from god ('God') + sibb ('kinsman, relative'); the sense shifted from 'close friend' to 'one who chatters idly'.

godsibb Old English sibb Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# gossiper

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡɑsəpɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡɒsɪpə/

## Meanings
1. a person who habitually spreads idle talk or rumors about others

## Examples
- The office gossiper knew everyone's business within a day.

## Synonyms
- gossipmonger
- tattler
- talebearer
- busybody
- rumormonger
- blabbermouth

## Related Forms
- gossip
- gossipy
- gossiping

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: godsibb
- Root: sibb

## Etymology
Agent noun from gossip, from Old English godsibb ('godparent, sponsor at baptism'), from god ('God') + sibb ('kinsman, relative'); the sense shifted from 'close friend' to 'one who chatters idly'.

## AI Etymology
Gossiper is an agent noun from gossip, from Old English godsibb ('godparent, sponsor at baptism'), from god ('God') + sibb ('kinsman, relative'); the sense shifted from 'close friend' to 'one who chatters idly'. The historical trail runs through Old English godsibb and Old English sibb. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. The later sense follows a semantic development already present in the word's history. In modern use it means a person who habitually spreads idle talk or rumors about others. Related forms include gossip, gossipy, gossiping.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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