Senior managing editor and logophile Andy Hollandbeck reveals the sometimes surprising roots of common English words and phrases. Remember: Etymology tells us where a word comes from, but not what it means today.
In some Christian traditions, infant baptism involves not only the parents, child, and church, but other people who sponsor the baptism and who promise to help guide the child’s spiritual growth. Today, we call these people godparents. Becoming a godparent links the adult and the baptized child spiritually, and the word godparent indicates that one is the child’s “parent” not through blood but through God.
The tradition is an old one, going back more than a millennium. But a millennium ago, during the Old English period, they weren’t called godparents; the word parent wouldn’t arrive in the language until after 1066. In Old English, a godparent was called a godsibb; the word sibb (which lives on today in the word sibling) meant “blood relative.”
Like a godparent, a godsibb was an adult who was related to the child through God rather than through blood, but without the inherent parent-child structure of godparent.
If you’ve ever been around an infant, you know how horrible they are at even the simplest conversation. This has always been true. Interactions between a baby and a godparent/godsibb must be mediated through the child’s parents or other godparents, which can create stronger bonds among the adults involved even while they focus on the child’s needs. Godsibb, then, came to indicate the relationship between the godparent and the child’s parents or between multiple godparents of the same child.
Naturally, these are pretty close and amiable relationships, so during the Middle English period, the word came to describe any close friendship. The word itself changed, too. Godsibb over time became more clipped, evolving into gossip.
And what do friends do when they get together? They chat. They natter and jabber, kibitz and prattle. Sometimes about other people. By the 16th century, gossip had taken a downturn: It was a person who participated in idle chatter or who spread rumors.
After that, gossip progressed in fairly expected ways. By the 17th century, the noun had been verbed: Gossips were gossiping. And by the 19th century, the shared bits of information (or misinformation) had themselves become gossip.
Become a Saturday Evening Post member and enjoy unlimited access. Subscribe now
