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defame

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de⋅fame

  [di-feym]
–verb (used with object), -famed, -fam⋅ing.
1. to attack the good name or reputation of, as by uttering or publishing maliciously or falsely anything injurious; slander or libel; calumniate: The newspaper editorial defamed the politician.
2. Archaic. to disgrace; bring dishonor upon.
3. Archaic. to accuse.
Use defame in a Sentence
Origin:
1275–1325; ME defamen (< AF defamer) < ML dēfāmāre, by-form of ML, L diffāmāre (dē- de- for dif-; cf. L dēfāmātus infamous) to spread the news of, slander, equiv. to dif- dif- + -fāmāre v. deriv. of fāma news, rumor, slander (see fame ); r. ME diffamen (< AF, OF diffamer) < ML, L, as above

Related forms:
de⋅fam⋅er, noun
de⋅fam⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. malign, disparage, discredit, vilify, derogate, revile, denigrate, backbite.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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de·fame   (dĭ-fām')   
tr.v.   de·famed, de·fam·ing, de·fames

  1. To damage the reputation, character, or good name of by slander or libel. See Synonyms at malign.

  2. Archaic To disgrace.


[Middle English defamen, from Old French defamer, from Medieval Latin dēfāmāre, alteration of Latin diffāmāre, to spread news of, slander : dis-, abroad, apart; see dis- + fāma, rumor, reputation; see bhā-2 in Indo-European roots.]
de·fam'er n.
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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Word Origin & History

defame 
1303, from O.Fr. defamer, from M.L. defamare, from L. diffamare "to spread abroad by ill report," from dis- suggestive of ruination + fama "a report, rumor."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: de·fame
Pronunciation: di-'fAm
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: de·famed; de·fam·ing
Etymology: Medieval Latin defamare, alteration of Latin diffamare to spread news of, defame, from dis-, prefix marking dispersal or removal + fama reputation
: to make the subject of defamation —de·fam·er noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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