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EAVESDRIP, or EAVESDROP

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Originally appearing in Volume V08, Page 840 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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EAVESDRIP, or EAVESDROP

EAVESDRIP, or EAVESDROP , that width of ground around a See also:

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house or See also:

BUILDING

building which receives the See also:

RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain See also:

WATER

water dropping from the See also:

EAVES (not a plural form as is sometimes supposed, but singular; O. Eng. efes, in Mid. High Ger. obse, Gothic ubizwa, a porch; connected with " over ")

eaves. By an See also:

ancient Saxon See also:

law, a landowner was forbidden to erect any building at less than 2 ft. from the boundary of his See also:

LAND

land, and was thus prevented from injuring his See also:

NEIGHBOUR (O. Eng. neahgebiir, from Walt, " nigh," " near ")

neighbour's house or See also:

PROPERTY

property by the dripping of water from his eaves. The law of Eavesdrip has had its See also:

EQUIVALENT

equivalent in the See also:

ROMAN

Roman See also:

STILLICIDIUM

stillicidium, which prohibited building up to the very edge of an See also:

ESTATE (through O. Fr. estat, mod. flat, from Lat. status, state, condition, position, stare, to stand)

estate. From the Saxon See also:

CUSTOM (from O. Fr. costume, costume or coustume; Low Lat. costuma, a shortened form of consuetudo)

custom arose the See also:

TERM

term " eavesdropper," i.e. any one who stands within " the eavesdrop " of a house, hence one who pries into others' business or listens to secrets. At See also:

COMMON

common law an eavesdropper was regarded as a common See also:

NUISANCE (through Fr. noisance, nuisance, from Lat. nocere, to hurt)

nuisance, and was presentable at the See also:

court leet, and indictable at the See also:

SHERIFF

sheriff's tourn and punishable by See also:

FINE

fine and finding sureties for See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good behaviour. Though the offence of eavesdropping still exists at common law, there is no See also:

MODERN

modern instance of a See also:

PROSECUTION

prosecution or See also:

INDICTMENT (from Anglo-Fr. enditernent, enditer, to charge; Lat. in, against, dictare, declare)

End of Article: EAVESDRIP, or EAVESDROP

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