E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Gossip.
A tattler; a sponsor at baptism, a corruption of gossib, which is Godsib, a kinsman in the Lord. (Sib, gesib, Anglo-Saxon, kinsman, whence sibman, he is our sib, still used.)
1
“‘Tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips [sponsors for her child]: yet ’tis a maid, for she is her master’s servant, and serves for wages.”—Shakespeare: Two Gentlemen of Verona, iii. 1.
Gossip. A father confessor, of a good, easy, jovial frame.
2
“Here, Andrew, carry this to my gossip, jolly father Boniface, the monk of St. Martin’s.”—Sir Walter Scott: Quentin Durward.
