on dit

Borrowed from French on-dit (“they say; it is said”).

IPA^(key): /ɒ̃ diː/

on dit (plural on dits)

1. A rumour; hearsay

   It is a mere on dit.

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Gossipping”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 93:

     Lady Marchmont was an object of her especial dislike; she feared her wit, and could not forgive her youth and beauty. Moreover, there was an interest in any on dit about one so much the rage; her looks, laces, and sayings, were equally invaluable as matters of gossip.

   • 1922, Sinclair Lewis, “15”, in Babbitt:

     Though he is too modest to admit it, Lord Doak gives a cachet to our smart quartier such as it has not received since the ever-memorable visit of the Earl of Sittingbourne. Not only is he of the British peerage, but he is also, on dit, a leader of the British metal industries.

   • 2015 July 3, Gaby Wood, “Harper Lee: The inside story of the greatest comeback in literature [print version: The curious case of Harper Lee, 4 July 2015, p. 6]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎^[1], archived from the original on 7 July 2015:

     The ‘on dit’ at Lippincott was that she [author Harper Lee] only had one book in her […]

• “on dit”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

• tondi