libel definition | Dictionary.com

li⋅bel

[lahy-buh

noun, verb, -beled, -bel⋅ing or (especially British

) -belled, -bel⋅ling.

Use libel in a Sentence

–noun

Law.

a.	defamation by written or printed words, pictures, or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures.

b.	the act or crime of publishing it.

c.	a formal written declaration or statement, as one containing the allegations of a plaintiff or the grounds of a charge.

2.	anything that is defamatory or that maliciously or damagingly misrepresents.

–verb (used with object)

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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To libel

li·bel (lī'bəl)

1. A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation.
2. The act of presenting such material to the public.
The written claims presented by a plaintiff in an action at admiralty law or to an ecclesiastical court.

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 © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

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.

Libel

Li"bel\ (l[imac]"b[e^]l), v. i. To spread defamation, written or printed; -- with against. [Obs.]

What's this but libeling against the senate? --Shak.

[He] libels now 'gainst each great man. --Donne.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : libel

Spanish: calumnia, difamación,

German: die Verleumdung,

Japanese: 中傷

More Translations »

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.

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.

Main Entry: li·bel
Pronunciation: 'lI-b&l
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber book
1 : COMPLAINT 1 —used esp. in admiralty and divorce cases
2 a : a defamatory statement or representation 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 him or 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 First Amendment 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 or politician) 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 reckless disregard 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 defendant without 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 not published 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 (as to 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 a defense. 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 other than the person libeled.

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 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) libeled in Boston —J. K. Owens>

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