Gossip
Etymology
From Old English godsibb "godparent," from god plus sib "relative" — a sponsor at a baptism, thus a spiritual kin. It drifted from "close family friend" to "a woman’s female friends at a birth," to "idle chatterer," and finally to the talk itself. The surprise: gossip began as a term of sacred kinship.
noun · /GOSS-ip/
Informal talk about the private affairs of people who are not present.
What it names
A handle for a core social technology — the trading of information about others that builds bonds, enforces norms, and distributes reputation, for better and worse.
Example
Half the office ran on gossip — it was how everyone learned who was really leaving before HR announced it.
Related idea
Distinct from slander: gossip may be true, false, kind, or cruel, and its point is social connection and information-sharing; slander is specifically false and intended to damage a reputation. Not all gossip is slander, and much of it is how groups actually govern themselves.
See also