This is Origins in Five. Five minutes, one word, a small story to start the day. Today's word is gossip. Now you may remember our last episode was eavesdrop, and while gossip and eavesdrop are not related, they are similar in some ways. Both have negative connotations, and while eavesdrop refers to gathering of information, gossip is about the telling of that information. Now when we hear the word gossip, we tend to think about rumors, celebrity scandals, whispering behind someone's back, or spreading private information that probably should not be shared. It is unlikely anyone would think being called a person who gossips is a compliment. But interestingly, the word originally had nothing to do with rumors or idle talk. In fact, it once referred to an important person in your life. Our story begins in old English with the word God Sib G-O-D S I B. Now the first part God means exactly what you think. The second part sib S I B meant relative, kinship, or close relation. We still see traces of that old word today in the word sibling. So a god sib was literally a person related to you through God, and in modern day vocabulary we would call this person a godparent. And a godparent was someone who was with you during childbirth. As many folks know, until recent innovations in modern medicine, childbirth was an extremely dangerous event. During the Middle Ages, women often relied on a close circle of female friends and relatives for support during labor and recovery. These trusted companions would gather around the mother, help care for the child, and spend long hours together talking. Eventually the word god sib changed to gossip, and it began referring not just to a god parent, but to a close friend, especially a woman who was a trusted companion during childbirth and family life. And where these groups of close friends gather, conversation flowed. A lot of conversation. By the fifteen hundreds and sixteen hundreds, the meaning of the word began to shift. Instead of referring primarily to the person or persons, gossip increasingly referred to the kind of talk associated with these social gatherings casual chatting, personal stories, news about neighbors, perhaps speculation, perhaps rumor. Writers from this period often portrayed gossip as excessive or trivial talk, especially among groups of women. Over time the negative tone grew stronger. Eventually the modern meaning took over almost completely. Today, gossip usually refers to rumor sharing of private talk about other people's lives, often with the implication that the information may be unkind, exaggerated, or nobody else's business to begin with. What's fascinating is how dramatically the word changed. A term that originally described the trusted spiritual relationship or family relationship slowly evolved into a word associated with rumor and scandal. So the next time you hear the word gossip, remember that it once referred to someone close enough to stand beside you during one of the most important moments of your life. And that's Origins and Five. One word, one story to start your day.