Goss

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The act of sharing or spreading rumors or idle talk
2. Informal conversation about the personal affairs of others
3. Engaging in light-hearted or frivolous discussion about others' lives

Etymology: "Goss" is a clipping of "gossip," so its story is really the story of the longer word. "Gossip" began as "godsib," an Old English term for a godparent, from "god" (God) and "sibb" (relative), meaning someone bound to a child by spiritual kinship. Over time the word broadened to mean a close friend, especially a woman present at a childbirth, and from there the chatter of such women gathered together gave it its modern sense of idle talk about others. The shorter form "goss" comes from that same chatty root, shortened in the way many familiar words are trimmed for everyday speech. The source also links the word to "gossamer," the fine, filmy strands of spider silk. The two are not the same word, but the connection is one of image: both describe something light, thin, and easily carried about, which suits the lightweight talk the verb now names.