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Living Together

The images hidden in words for companionship and conflict.

Sharing food, watching neighbours and deciding who belongs all left marks on the words we use for one another. Their histories run from ancient civic procedures to old words for kinship and neighbours.

In approximate historical order, from the origins and events behind the words.

  1. ostracism (n.)a vote on a broken pot
  2. rival (n.)sharing a stream
  3. companion (n.)someone who shared bread
  4. eavesdrop (v.)a place before it was an act
  5. gossip (n.)once a godparent

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