hearsay
UK[ˈhɪə.seɪ]US[ˈhɪr.seɪ]
n
information that you have heard from other people but do not know to be true; rumor or gossip.
Morpheme Breakdown
hear
say
hear
to perceive by the ear
say
to utter, to tell
Etymology
the compound noun 'hearsay' is a native english formation, emerging in the early 16th century from the simple combination of the two common verbs 'hear' and 'say'. it literally describes information that one has "heard said" by another person. this transparent construction directly captures the second-hand, unverified nature of the information, as it passes from the original speaker to the listener via an intermediary. its legal adoption to denote evidence not based on a witness's direct knowledge but on what they heard others say formalized this core concept of indirect transmission, moving from a literal description to a specific term for rumor or unverified report.
Analysis
Structure: hear + say
- hear: from old english 'hieran', meaning 'to perceive by the ear'.
- say: from old english 'secgan', meaning 'to utter, to tell'.
Examples
the evidence was dismissed by the court as mere hearsay.
i don't believe it; it's just hearsay and gossip.
you shouldn't make serious decisions based on hearsay.