Word of the Day : June 18, 2021

calumny \KAL-um-nee\ noun

Definition

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

Did You Know?

Calumny made an appearance in these famous words from William Shakespeare's Hamlet: "If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for thy dowry: be thou chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go." The word had been in the English language for a while, though, before Hamlet uttered it. It first entered English in the 15th century and comes from the Middle French word calomnie of the same meaning. Calomnie, in turn, derives from the Latin word calumnia, (meaning "false accusation," "false claim," or "trickery"), which itself traces to the Latin verb calvi, meaning "to deceive."

Aired June 18, 2021

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