Tatler

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who spreads gossip and repeats private news about others ; a periodical publication, especially a British magazine covering society and current affairs
2. Someone who passes along rumours and personal stories about other people ; a British periodical, originally a newspaper, known for its society and arts coverage
3. A chatterer who carries tales from one person to another ; an illustrated magazine, particularly one associated with British high society and culture

Etymology: The word "tatler" is an older spelling of "tattler," and the second half of it is one of English's oldest working suffixes. The "-er" comes from Old English "-ere," which marked a person who does a particular thing, so a tatler is simply one who tattles. That suffix descends through Proto-Germanic and Latin "-arius," which spread across Europe as a way of turning actions into people, and it reached English both directly from Old English and again through Old French. The verb it attaches to, "tattle," is the more striking part of the story. Its sense of idle, chattering talk carries no hint of tale-telling or betrayal in its root, and the word tells us about the person doing the chattering rather than the content of the chatter. Spelled "tatler" in older English, the word appears in the same family of talk words that include "gossip" and "chatterbox," all describing someone whose mouth outruns their discretion.

Synonyms: gossip, busybody, chatterbox, tattletale