hearsay
pronunciation
How to pronounce hearsay in British English:
UK [ˈhɪəseɪ]
How to pronounce hearsay in American English:
US [ˈhɪrseɪ]
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- Noun:
- gossip (usually a mixture of truth and untruth) passed around by word of mouth
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- Adjective:
- heard through another rather than directly
Word Origin
- hearsay (n.)
- "information communicated by another, gossip," mid-15c., from phrase to hear say (Middle English heren seien, Old English herdon secgan). The notion is "hear (some people) say;" from hear (v.) + say (v.). As an adjective from 1570s. Hearsay evidence (1670s) is that which the witness gives not from his own perception but what was told to him. Compare similar formation in Dutch hooren zeggen, German hörensagen.
Example
- 1. Let 's dive a little deeper into all this rumor and hearsay .
- 2. Marco may have visited baghdad , but more likely he merely heard about it and other parts of iraq from travelers ; he often reported hearsay .
- 3. When the complaint is based on nothing but hearsay and anger , a reasoned response can often just ignite fires and push more people to post unfair criticism .
- 4. But barrett and her team wanted to answer another question : once hearsay has predisposed us to see someone in a certain way , is it possible that we literally see them differently ?
- 5. And if this smacks of hearsay not science , the new " hedonimetrists " can appeal to other kinds of evidence , better calculated to impress .