backbite

Etymology

From Middle English bakbiten, bacbiten, equivalent to back- + bite. Cognate with Icelandic bakbíta (“to backbite, vilify”).

verb

1. To make spiteful slanderous or defamatory statements about someone.
2. (informal) To attack from behind or when out of earshot with spiteful or defamatory remarks.
3. To speak badly of an absent individual.

noun

1. One who engages in backbiting; a backbiter.