Why do we say ‘eavesdrop’?
SHORT ANSWER
Here’s a clue: rain drops from the eaves of a house
LONG ANSWER No need to eavesdrop on the answer, we’re going to tell you. e original eavesdrop referred to the land around a house where rainwater fell from the eaves. It goes back to the ninth century and had significant legal ramifications as a house couldn’t be built if the eavesdrop would be in a neighbour’s property. By the 17th century, the word had evolved to mean a person standing in that patch of land around a house and secretly listening to what happened inside.