talebearing

English

Etymology

From tale +‎ bearing.

Noun

talebearing (countable and uncountable, plural talebearings)

1. The spreading of gossip or rumor.
   • 1973, Taya Zinkin, Weeds grow fast, page 30:

     waiting to be in her presence to burst into the tears with which he delivered endless, and sometimes even untrue, talebearings

   • 1979, Bernhard Häring, Free and Faithful in Christ: General moral theology, page 94:

     The damage done by calumny, detraction, and talebearing can frequently not be repaired.

   • 2003, Avraham Steinberg with Fred Rosner, Encyclopedia of Jewish medical ethics, page 229:

     By talebearing, a person may actually violate seventeen negative Biblical precepts, fourteen positive precepts and incur three curses

Synonyms

• (spreading gossip or rumor): rumormongering, talemongering, telling tales