gossipy
Meaning
characterized by or fond of casual or idle talk about other people's private lives
containing or full of gossip
Structure
Usage
she works in a gossipy office where everyone knows each other's business.
the article was a gossipy piece about the royal family.
avoid being too gossipy if you want to be trusted with secrets.
Etymology
the word 'gossipy' is a modern english formation built upon the older noun 'gossip'. its core, 'gossip', originates from the old english compound 'godsibb', a fusion of 'god' and 'sibb' (meaning 'relative'), which originally denoted a godparent or a close friend. by the late middle english period, the term's meaning shifted from a person to the familiar conversation such a person might engage in, eventually specializing to denote casual talk about personal matters. the addition of the productive adjectival suffix '-y', of old english origin, directly transforms this concept into a descriptive term, meaning either 'prone to such talk' or 'resembling or full of it', completing a clear semantic evolution from a sacred kinship term to a descriptor for secular, often trivial, chatter.
Analysis
gossip (middle english, from old english godsibb, meaning 'godparent'), y (old english, adjective-forming suffix)