GRAPEVINE

PRONUNCIATION: (GRAYP-vyn)

MEANING: noun: An informal transmission of information, rumors, gossip, etc., by word of mouth.

ETYMOLOGY: Shortening of grapevine telegraph, apparently from the spreading of a vine to the spread of a telegraph network and tendrils to wire coils. Earliest documented use: 1867.
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FRA PEVINE - a little-known French monk from Marseilles

GRAF EVINE - a medieval Count from the Alsace-Lorraine region

GRAN PEVINE - a sports-car rally held on the Italian Riviera