Eavesdrop

To listen in on someone else’s conversation dates from the early 1600s and derives from the eaves of a house, which are the parts of the roof that extend beyond the wall structure thereby directing rain away from the wall foundations. The eaves would invariably drip with water and the space between the walls and the extended edge of the roof came to be called the eavesdrip and eventually the eavesdrop. Thus, originally it described a part of the house. It soon became a part of the house, however, where nosey, inquisitive people could stand under shelter and listen in to private conversations in the house. By the 1600s, this practice became known as eavesdropping.