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calumny - 4 dictionary results

cal⋅um⋅ny

  [kal-uhm-nee]
Use calumny in a Sentence
–noun, plural -nies.
1. a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something: The speech was considered a calumny of the administration.
2. the act of uttering calumnies; slander; defamation.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L calumnia, equiv. to calumn-, perh. orig. a middle participle of calvī to deceive + -ia -y 3 )

Synonyms:
2. libel, vilification, calumniation, derogation.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cal·um·ny   (kāl'əm-nē)   
n.   pl. cal·um·nies
  1. A false statement maliciously made to injure another's reputation.
  2. The utterance of maliciously false statements; slander.

[Middle English calumnie, from Old French calomnie, from Latin calumnia, from calvī, to deceive.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Calumny

Cal"um*ny\, n.; pl. Calumnies. [L. calumnia, fr. calvi to devise tricks, deceive; cf. F. calomnie. Cf. Challenge, n.] False accusation of a crime or offense, maliciously made or reported, to the injury of another; malicious misrepresentation; slander; detraction. "Infamous calumnies." --Motley.

Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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calumny 
1447, from M.Fr. calomnie, from L. calumnia "slander, false accusation," from calvi "to trick, deceive," from PIE base *kel-, *kol- "to deceive, confuse."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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