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li·bel 
Audio Help [lahy-buhl] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -beled, -bel·ing or (especially British) -belled, -bel·ling.
Audio Help [lahy-buhl] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -beled, -bel·ing or (especially British) -belled, -bel·ling. –noun
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | Law.
|
| 2. | anything that is defamatory or that maliciously or damagingly misrepresents. |
| 3. | to publish a libel against. |
| 4. | to misrepresent damagingly. |
| 5. | to institute suit against by a libel, as in an admiralty court. |
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME: little book, formal document, esp. plaintiff's statement < L libellus, dim. of liber book; for formation, see castellum]
] | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Libel
To learn more about Libel visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| li·bel
Audio Help (lī'bəl) Pronunciation Key
n.
tr.v. li·beled or li·belled, li·bel·ing or li·bel·ling, li·bels To publish a libel about (a person). See Synonyms at malign. [Middle English, litigant's written complaint, from Old French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber, book.] li'bel·er, li'bel·ist n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
libel
1297, "formal written statement," especially, in civil law, "plaintiff's statement of charges" (1340); from O.Fr. libelle (fem.), from L. libellus "a little book, petition," dim. of liber "book." Broader sense of "any published or written statement likely to harm a person's reputation" is first attested 1631. The verb is 1570, from the noun.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| libel | |
noun | |
| 1. | a false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person |
| 2. | the written statement of a plaintiff explaining the cause of action (the defamation) and any relief he seeks |
verb | |
| 1. | print slanderous statements against; "The newspaper was accused of libeling him" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
libel [ˈlaibəl] noun
the legal term for something written which is harmful to a person's reputation
libel [ˈlaibəl] verb
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to damage the reputation of (someone) by libel
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
libel
A written, printed, or pictorial statement that unjustly defames someone publicly. Prosecution of libel as a punishable offense puts some measure of restriction on freedom of the press under the First Amendment.
[Chapter:] American Politics
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
Main Entry: li·bel
Pronunciation: 'lI-b&l
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber book
1: SINGLE PUBLICATION RULE">COMPLAINT 1 —used esp. in admiralty and divorce cases
2 a : a defamatory statement orrepresentation esp. in the form of written or printed words; specifically : a false published statement that injures an individual's reputation (as in business) or otherwise exposes himor her to public contempt b : the publication of such a libel c : the crime or tort of publishing a libel —see also SINGLE PUBLICATION RULE New York Times Company v. Sullivan in the IMPORTANT CASES section —compare DEFAMATION,SLANDER
NOTE: Although libel is defined under state case law or statute, the U.S. Supreme Court has enumerated some FirstAmendment protections that apply to matters of public concern. In New York Times Company v. Sullivan, the Court held that in order to recover damages a public person (as a celebrity orpolitician) who alleges libel (as by a newspaper) has to prove that “the statement was made with ‘actual malice’ — that is, with knowledge that it was false or with recklessdisregard of whether it was false or not” in order to recover damages. The Court has also held that the states cannot allow a private person to recover damages for libel against a media defendantwithout a showing of fault (as negligence) on the defendant's part. These protections do not apply to matters that are not of public concern (as an individual's credit report) and that are notpublished by a member of the mass media. A libel plaintiff must generally establish that the alleged libel refers to him or her specifically, that it was published to others, and that some injury (asto reputation) occurred that gives him or her a right to recover damages (as actual, general, presumed, or special damages). The defendant may plead and establish the truth of the statements as adefense. Criminal libel may have additional elements, as in tending to provoke a breach of peace or in blackening the memory of someone who is dead, and may not have to be published to someone otherthan the person libeled.
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Main Entry: li·bel
Pronunciation: 'lI-b&l
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber book
1: SINGLE PUBLICATION RULE">COMPLAINT 1 —used esp. in admiralty and divorce cases
2 a : a defamatory statement orrepresentation esp. in the form of written or printed words; specifically : a false published statement that injures an individual's reputation (as in business) or otherwise exposes himor her to public contempt b : the publication of such a libel c : the crime or tort of publishing a libel —see also SINGLE PUBLICATION RULE New York Times Company v. Sullivan in the IMPORTANT CASES section —compare DEFAMATION,SLANDER
NOTE: Although libel is defined under state case law or statute, the U.S. Supreme Court has enumerated some FirstAmendment protections that apply to matters of public concern. In New York Times Company v. Sullivan, the Court held that in order to recover damages a public person (as a celebrity orpolitician) who alleges libel (as by a newspaper) has to prove that “the statement was made with ‘actual malice’ — that is, with knowledge that it was false or with recklessdisregard of whether it was false or not” in order to recover damages. The Court has also held that the states cannot allow a private person to recover damages for libel against a media defendantwithout a showing of fault (as negligence) on the defendant's part. These protections do not apply to matters that are not of public concern (as an individual's credit report) and that are notpublished by a member of the mass media. A libel plaintiff must generally establish that the alleged libel refers to him or her specifically, that it was published to others, and that some injury (asto reputation) occurred that gives him or her a right to recover damages (as actual, general, presumed, or special damages). The defendant may plead and establish the truth of the statements as adefense. Criminal libel may have additional elements, as in tending to provoke a breach of peace or in blackening the memory of someone who is dead, and may not have to be published to someone otherthan the person libeled.
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Main Entry: libel
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -beled also -belled; -bel·ing also -bel·ling
1: to make or publish a libel against : to hurt the reputation of by libel <respondent's complaint alleged that he had been libeled by statements in a full-page advertisement—New York Times Company v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)>
2 : to proceed against in law by filing a libel (as against a ship or goods) <several French ships werelibeled in Boston —J. K. Owens>
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Main Entry: libel
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -beled also -belled; -bel·ing also -bel·ling
1: to make or publish a libel against : to hurt the reputation of by libel <respondent's complaint alleged that he had been libeled by statements in a full-page advertisement—New York Times Company v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)>
2 : to proceed against in law by filing a libel (as against a ship or goods) <several French ships werelibeled in Boston —J. K. Owens>
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Libel
Be*li"bel\, v. t. [See Libel, v. t. ] To libel or traduce; to calumniate. --Fuller.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Libel
Li"bel\ (l[imac]"b[e^]l), n. [L. libellus a little book, pamphlet, libel, lampoon, dim. of liber the liber or inner bark of a tree; also (because the ancients wrote on this bark), paper, parchment, or a roll of any material used to write upon, and hence, a book or treatise: cf. F. libelle.]1. A brief writing of any kind, esp. a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc. [Obs.] --Chaucer. A libel of forsaking [divorcement]. --Wyclif (Matt. v. 31). 2. Any defamatory writing; a lampoon; a satire. 3. (Law) A malicious publication expressed either in print or in writing, or by pictures, effigies, or other signs, tending to expose another to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule. Such publication is indictable at common law. Note: The term, in a more extended sense, includes the publication of such writings, pictures, and the like, as are of a blasphemous, treasonable, seditious, or obscene character. These also are indictable at common law. 4. (Law) The crime of issuing a malicious defamatory publication. 5. (Civil Law & Courts of Admiralty) A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of his cause of action, and of the relief he seeks.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Libel
Li"bel\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Libeled (-b[e^]ld) or Libelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Libeling or Libelling.]1. To defame, or expose to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule, by a writing, picture, sign, etc.; to lampoon. Some wicked wits have libeled all the fair. --Pope. 2. (Law) To proceed against by filing a libel, particularly against a ship or goods.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
libel
libel: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
| On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB |
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