Before entering fully into the meaning of the term gossip, it is necessary to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can highlight that it is a word that derives from Latin, exactly from “cauta”, which, in turn, comes from “cautum”.
The act and result of gossiping is called gossip : gossiping, gossiping, gossiping or pandering. Whoever spreads gossip, rumors or gossip, therefore, engages in gossip.
For example: “The team coach is angry about the locker room gossip,” “Television programs dedicated to gossip are the most popular,” “There are people who use social networks for gossip, but I use them for work reasons.” ” .
There are different theories about the starting point of gossip. Thus, one, collected in the work “General Inventory of Insults”, indicates that it comes from the 19th century and specifically from a figure of that time such as María de la Trinidad Cotilla, popularly known as Aunt Cotilla.
That was a woman who was at the head of an anti-liberal group, specifically with absolutist political ideas. Apparently this woman had a network of snitches, who were called gossips, who kept her informed of all the aspects and issues that might interest them since they charged for it.
María was executed in Madrid, after having committed different murders, and after her death the term gossip came to be used to refer to someone who likes gossip. And these in themselves came to be called gossip.
At a general level, it can be said that gossip consists of referring to someone who is not present . Usually the comments made are negative: since the individual referred to does not listen to what is said, he does not have the possibility of responding or defending himself.
Gossip usually involves the spread of inaccurate , unverified or false information . Suppose a woman hears on the street that her neighbor is pregnant and does not know who the father of the child is. This woman comes home and tells her husband what she heard. The man, in turn, passes the rumor on to his co-workers, who also spread it throughout the neighborhood. In this way, gossip grows and becomes popular without anyone consulting the protagonist about the veracity of what was said.
There are styles of journalism that are oriented toward gossip: the yellow press (also known as the tabloid press ) and the pink press ( the tabloid press ). In these publications and broadcasts, journalists are dedicated to publishing rumors and unconfirmed data, which are usually scandalous or controversial.
In recent years, the number of television programs focused on gossip has increased considerably. This would be the case, for example, of the program “Sálvame”, which is broadcast from Monday to Friday afternoons on the Telecinco network in Spain.
Likewise, it is worth highlighting the existence of an online publication called “Gossip”, where information about celebrities is offered.