Word of the Day: CALUMNY

cal·um·ny

noun \ˈka-ləm-nē also ˈkal-yəm-\

: an untrue statement that is made to damage someone’s reputation; also : the act of making such statements

plural cal·um·nies

Full Definition of CALUMNY

1 :  a misrepresentation intended to harm another’s reputation

2 :  the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another’s reputation

— ca·lum·ni·ous adjective

— ca·lum·ni·ous·ly adverb

Examples of CALUMNY

1. They uttered calumnies against him.
2. RJ was the target of calumny for his unpopular statement. (Most jews do in fact look white.)
3. The “hairdryer” comments by Spero were a childish calumny toward WR.
4. The calumny bread has used to blame WR for his own degenerate Flickr account has worked on the feeble minds at mami’s.

Origin of CALUMNY

Middle English calumnye, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French calomnie, from Latin calumnia, from calvi to deceive; perhaps akin to Old English hōlian to slander, Greek kēlein to beguile

First Known Use: 15th century