calumny
[ kal-uhm-nee ]
/ ˈkæl əm ni /
noun, plural cal·um·nies.
a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something: The speech was considered a calumny of the administration.
the act of uttering calumnies; slander; defamation.
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Nearby words
calumet city, calumniate, calumniation, calumniator, calumnious, calumny, calutron, calvados, calvaria, calvarium, calvary
Origin of calumny
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin calumnia, equivalent to calumn-, perhaps originally a middle participle of calvī to deceive + -ia -y3)
SYNONYMS FOR calumny
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for calumny
British Dictionary definitions for calumny
calumny
/ (ˈkæləmnɪ) /
noun plural -nies
the malicious utterance of false charges or misrepresentation; slander; defamation
such a false charge or misrepresentation
Word Origin for calumny
C15: from Latin calumnia deception, slander
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for calumny
calumny
"False & malicious misrepresentation of the words or actions of others, calculated to injure their reputation" [Fowler], mid-15c., from Middle French calomnie (15c.), from Latin calumnia "trickery, subterfuge, misrepresentation, malicious charge," from calvi "to trick, deceive," from PIE root *kel- "to deceive, confuse" (cf. Greek kelein "to bewitch, seduce, beguile," Gothic holon "to deceive," Old Norse hol "praise, flattery," Old English hol "slander," holian "to slander").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper