What is "gossip"

Gossip \Gos"sip\, n. [OE. gossib, godsib, a relation or sponsor in baptism, a relation by a religious obligation, AS. godsibb, fr. god + sib alliance, relation; akin to G. sippe, Goth. sibja, and also to Skr. sabh[=a] assembly.]

1. A sponsor; a godfather or a godmother.

   Should a great lady that was invited to be a gossip, in her place send her kitchen maid, 't would be ill taken.
   --Selden.

2. A friend or comrade; a companion; a familiar and customary acquaintance. [Obs.]

   My noble gossips, ye have been too prodigal.
   --Shak.

3. One who runs house to house, tattling and telling news; an idle tattler.

   The common chat of gossips when they meet.
   --Dryden.

4. The tattle of a gossip; groundless rumor.

   Bubbles o'er like a city with gossip, scandal, and spite.
   --Tennyson.

Gossip \Gos"sip\, v. t. To stand sponsor to. [Obs.]
--Shak.

Gossip \Gos"sip\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Gossiped; p. pr. & vb. n. Gossiping.]

1. To make merry. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

2. To prate; to chat; to talk much.
   --Shak.

3. To run about and tattle; to tell idle tales.

Old English godsibb "sponsor, godparent," from God + sibb "relative" (see sibling). Extended in Middle English to "any familiar acquaintance" (mid-14c.), especially to woman friends invited to attend a birth, later to "anyone engaging in familiar or idle talk" (1560s). Sense extended 1811 to "trifling talk, groundless rumor." Similar formations in Old Norse guðsifja, Old Saxon guþziff.

"to talk idly about the affairs of others," 1620s, from gossip (n.). Related: Gossiped; gossiping.

n. 1 Someone who likes to talk about someone else’s private or personal business. 2 Idle talk about someone’s private or personal matters, especially someone not present. 3 A genre in contemporary media, usually focused on the personal affairs of celebrities. 4 (lb en obsolete) A sponsor; a godfather or godmother. vb. 1 To talk about someone else's private or personal business, especially in a way that spreads the information. 2 To talk idly.

1. n. light informal conversation for social occasions [syn: chitchat, small talk, gab, gabfest, tittle-tattle, chin-wag, chin-wagging, causerie]

2. a report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people; "the divorce caused much gossip" [syn: comment, scuttlebutt]

3. a person given to gossiping and divulging personal information about others [syn: gossiper, gossipmonger, rumormonger, rumourmonger, newsmonger]

4. v. wag one's tongue; speak about others and reveal secrets or intimacies; "She won't dish the dirt" [syn: dish the dirt]

5. talk socially without exchanging too much information; "the men were sitting in the cafe and shooting the breeze" [syn: chew the fat, shoot the breeze, chat, confabulate, confab, chitchat, chatter, chaffer, natter, jaw, claver, visit]

Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act of is also known as dishing or tattling.

Gossip has been researched in terms of its evolutionary psychology origins. This has found gossip to be an important means by which people can monitor cooperative reputations and so maintain widespread indirect reciprocity. Indirect reciprocity is a social interaction in which one actor helps another and is then benefited by a third party. Gossip has also been identified by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary biologist, as aiding social bonding in large groups.

Social media has also provided a much faster way to share gossip. In only a matter of minutes, harmful gossip and rumors can spread online from one place in the world to another.

The term is sometimes used to specifically refer to the spreading of "dirt" and misinformation, as (for example) through excited discussion of scandals. Some newspapers carry " gossip columns" which detail the social and personal lives of celebrities or of élite members of certain communities.

Gossip was an experimental video game created for the Atari 8-bit family by Chris Crawford. Crawford wished for video games that would simulate aspects of human social interaction via “social challenges”. He hoped these " people games" would appeal to those who were not interested in the more common gaming genres of combat and sports.

Although the social interactions in Gossip are relatively simple, Crawford contends that they are comparable to the level of complexity found in The Sims.

Gossip was a three-piece American indie rock band formed in 1999 in Olympia, Washington. For most of their career, the band consisted of singer Beth Ditto, multi-instrumentalist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie. After releasing several recordings, the band broke through with their 2006 studio album, Standing in the Way of Control (2006). A follow-up, Music for Men, was released in 2009. The band plays a mix of post-punk revival, indie rock, and dance-rock. Their last album, A Joyful Noise, was released in May 2012.

Gossip is a 2000 American teen psychological thriller directed by Davis Guggenheim and featuring an ensemble cast including James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus, and Kate Hudson.

Gossip is a 2000 Swedish comedy/ drama film. It was directed and written by Colin Nutley.

Gossip is the double LP debut album by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls. Produced by Alan Thorne and Paul Kelly, it was released on Mushroom Records in September 1986, which peaked at No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart, and achieved gold record status. There was commercial success for " Before Too Long" which peaked at No. 15 and " Darling It Hurts" reached No. 25 on the related Singles Chart. Gossip was released in different forms, initially as a double album with 24 tracks, it was edited down to a single 15-track LP for North American and European release on A&M Records, when released on CD in North America, it featured 17 tracks.

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls had been named for a lyric in Lou Reed's song " Walk on the Wild Side", but all North American and European releases were credited to Paul Kelly and the Messengers due to possible racist interpretations. "Darling It Hurts" peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart in 1987. The initial 1987 Australian CD release contained 21 tracks; in 2005, a special deluxe 2-CD version was released in Australia which contained all 24 tracks. In October 2010, it was listed at No. 7 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.

Gossip is idle talk or rumour about the personal or private affairs of others.

Gossip may also refer to:

"Gossip" is the 67th episode of the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. It was also the twentieth episode of the show's third season.

"Gossip" is the first single from Lil Wayne's EP The Leak. The single was officially released December 18, 2007 to the iTunes Store. The song contains samples of " Stop! in the Name of Love" as performed by The Supremes.

"Gossip" is the sixth season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office, and the 101st overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 17, 2009. The episode was written and directed by Paul Lieberstein. It features Max Carver, Kelii Miyata and Elvy Yost in guest appearances as Dunder Mifflin's summer interns.

The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Michael spreads a rumor about Stanley having an affair, then spreads a series of false rumors to try to convince everyone the original rumor was not true. The rumors cause Andy to question his sexuality, and Pam and Jim to debate whether or not to tell the office that Pam is pregnant.

"Gossip" confirmed the fact that protagonist Pam was pregnant, which was strongly hinted in the fifth season finale, " Company Picnic". "Gossip" was the first episode to feature Ellie Kemper as a regular cast member, and the first Office episode since Ed Helms achieved box office success with the summer comedy film, The Hangover. "Gossip" received generally positive reviews, with several commentators particularly praising the subplot in which Andy questions whether the rumor about him being gay might actually be true. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode was watched by 8.21 million viewers. Although The Office had the highest 9 p.m. rating among viewers aged between 18 and 49, the overall episode constituted an 18 percent drop in viewership compared to the fifth season premiere, " Weight Loss". "Gossip" was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for best episodic comedy.

Gossip is an instant messaging client for Unix-like operating systems. It uses XMPP protocol and adheres to GNOME's published human interface guidelines. It is written in the C programming language, and its main developer is Mikael Hallendal, founder of Imendio.

Gossip is an unfinished British independent drama film directed by Don Boyd that collapsed early in its production and was never finished. It is the subject of an essay by Dan North in Sights Unseen: Unfinished British Films, edited by him, and is referenced by Stephen Fry, employed as a script rewriter for the film, in his book The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography. About a quarter of the script was shot and it is extensively archived at the Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture at the University of Exeter.

"Gossip" was digitally released on 1 July 2011. It was going to the first single from Vanessa Amorosi's fifth studio album, V which was not released, due to poor sales of this and subsequent single ' Amazing'.

The song "Gossip" was inspired by nights out partying in London and about how girls gossiping in toilets at nightclubs about what is going on outside with websites like Facebook. "These days people are no longer giving out their phone numbers, they are giving their Facebook names", Amorosi tells. The video clip for "Gossip" was filmed at Melbourne's Labassa mansion by director Stuart Gosling.