Where does “defamatory” come from?
Defamatory comes from Middle French diffamatoire, from Latin diffamatorius, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to speak or say.
defamatory (English): damaging to someone's reputation, especially if...
Definitions
- damaging to someone's reputation, especially if...
Ancestry of “defamatory”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | diffamatoire | — |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | diffamatorius | |
| 3 | Latin | diffamatus | defamed, maligned |
| 4 | Latin | diffamo | I spread an unfavorable report; I defame, malign,... |
| 5 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 6 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 7 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |