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)

    (file)

• 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. [from 4th c.]
   • 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. [from 14th c.]

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

3. To harm or diminish the reputation of; to disparage. [from 4th c.]

   to defame somebody

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:defame

Related terms

• defamatory
• defamation

Translations

to harm, to diminish the reputation of

• Bulgarian: позоря (bg) (pozorja), хуля (bg) (hulja)
• Catalan: difamar (ca)
• Czech: pomluvit (cs)
• Finnish: panetella (fi)
• French: diffamer (fr)
• German: diffamieren (de)
• Greek: κακολογώ (el) (kakologó), συκοφαντώ (el) (sykofantó)

  Ancient: κακολογέω (kakologéō), βλασφημέω (blasphēméō)

• Hebrew: השמיץ (hishmítz)
• Irish: aithisigh
• Latin: diffāmō
• Maori: tūtara, oro, whakakino ingoa, taiaroa
• Ngazidja Comorian: ukalia
• Portuguese: difamar (pt)
• Romanian: defăima (ro)
• Russian: поро́чить (ru) impf (poróčitʹ), позо́рить (ru) impf (pozóritʹ), хули́ть (ru) impf (xulítʹ), поноси́ть (ru) impf (ponosítʹ)
• Spanish: difamar (es), arruinar la reputación
• Swedish: ärekränka, förtala (sv), baktala (sv), baktala (sv), smutskasta (sv), diskreditera (sv)
• Thai: หมิ่นประมาท (th) (mìn-bprà-màat)

to disgrace, bring into disrepute

• Bulgarian: клеветя (bg) (klevetja)
• Catalan: difamar (ca)
• Faroese: æruskemma
• Finnish: herjata (fi)
• German: diffamieren (de)
• Greek: συκοφαντώ (el) (sykofantó), λιβελλογραφώ (livellografó)
• Maori: whakakino ingoa
• Portuguese: difamar (pt)
• Romanian: defăima (ro)
• Russian: клевета́ть (ru) impf (klevetátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: клеветати (klevetati)
• Spanish: difamar (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} fifamigi

Noun

defame (countable and uncountable, plural defames)

1. (now rare, archaic) Disgrace, dishonour. [from 14th c.]
   • 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. [from 15th c.]

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.