defame

English

Etymology

From Middle English defamen, from Anglo-Norman defamer (verb), defame (noun), and its source, Latin diffāmō, from fāma (“fame; rumour; reputation”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈfeɪm/

  • Audio (Southern England)

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• Rhymes: -eɪm

Verb

defame (third-person singular simple present defames, present participle defaming, simple past and past participle defamed)

1. To disgrace; to bring into disrepute.
   • 1697, Virgil, “The Tenth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:

     My guilt thy growing virtues did defame; / My blackness blotted thy unblemish'd name.

2. (now chiefly historical) To charge; to accuse (someone) of an offence.

   Rebecca is defamed of sorcery practised on the person of a noble knight.

3. To harm or diminish the reputation of; to disparage.

   to defame somebody

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:defame

Related terms

• defamatory
• defamation

Translations

Noun

defame (countable and uncountable, plural defames)

1. (now rare, archaic) Disgrace, dishonour.
   • 1613, John Marston, William Barksted, The Insatiate Countess, I.1:

     And all the sparks that may bring unto flame / Hate betwixt man and wife, or breed defame.

2. (now rare or nonstandard) Defamation; slander, libel.

Further reading

• “defame”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “defame”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.