Claik

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Idle talk or tittle-tattle, especially about other people's affairs ; to engage in chatty, gossipy conversation with others
2. Chatter or gossip, particularly the kind passed along about neighbours ; to talk idly and repeatedly about other people's business
3. Gossip spread through casual, often unkind conversation ; to natter and tattle in a sociable but nosy way

Etymology: Scots "claik" is a word for gossip, chatter, or to talk idly, and its roots run back to the Viking Age. It comes from Old Norse "klaka," a verb meaning to chatter or to screech, the kind of noisy, unceasing talk that gets passed between neighbours. The same Norse stock gave Scots and northern English a family of related forms, and the word settled into everyday speech north of the border, where it has long been used both as a verb and a noun. The verb and noun share a single meaning, so a "claik" can be the act of gossiping or the gossip itself. Its sound-picture is what makes it memorable: the short, clipped vowel and hard "k" mimic the rapid clatter of talk, much as the Norse root imitated noisy cries.

Synonyms: gossip, chatter