Eavesdropping is the act of surreptitiously listening to a private conversation. History Ancient Anglo-Saxon law punished eavesdroppers, who skulked in the eavesdrip of another's home, with a fine; the eavesdrip was also sometimes called the eavesdrop, and this word in turn also means a small and not very visible hole near the entrance to a building (generally under the eaves) which would allow the occupants to listen in on the conversation of people awaiting admission to the house. Typically… (More on Eavesdropping)