fame

[ feym ]

/ feɪm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fame ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

widespread reputation, especially of a favorable character; renown; public eminence: to seek fame as an opera singer.

common estimation or opinion generally held of a person or thing; reputation.

verb (used with object), famed, fam·ing.

Archaic. to have or spread the renown of; to make famous.

Nearby words

Origin of fame

1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin fāma talk, public opinion, repute, akin to fārī to speak

Related formsfame·less, adjectiveout·fame, verb (used with object), out·famed, out·fam·ing.self-fame, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fame

Tim Russert and I are driving back to the Albany airport after taking our kids to the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We might have thought The Comeback was about a desperate actress's shameless struggle for fame.
‘The Comeback’ Finale: Give Lisa Kudrow All of the Awards|Kevin Fallon|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She is using this technique, which generations of African-Americans have used for survival, for fame and profit.
The Cultural Crimes of Iggy Azalea|Amy Zimmerman|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But, strange to say, Cocker never got inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Greatest Rock Voice of All Time Belonged to Joe Cocker|Ted Gioia|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

According to some rumors, Goya was once on staff before his fame as a Spanish painter.
Inside The World’s 10 Oldest Restaurants|Justin Jones|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I know his fame as a pious teacher and a learned man, well beloved of his people.
Standish of Standish|Jane G. Austin
O sacred first illusions of childhood, you are sweeter than a thousand year of fame!
The Delicious Vice|Young E. Allison
It has been given to few or none to live a life so full of effort and achievement, so rich in honour and success and fame.
Views and Reviews|William Ernest Henley
I saw smiling dreams of fame and honour vanish little by little.
Thoughts on Art and Autobiographical Memoirs of Giovanni Dupr|Giovanni Dupr
The reason for this was that the tree had the fame of keeping off snakes, and also of protecting persons from witches.
Chatterbox, 1906|Various

British Dictionary definitions for fame

fame

/ (feɪm) /

noun

the state of being widely known or recognized; renown; celebrity

archaic rumour or public report

verb

(tr; now usually passive) to make known or famous; celebratehe was famed for his ruthlessness

Derived Formsfamed, adjective

Word Origin for fame

C13: from Latin f ā ma report; related to fārī to say

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 fame

fame

early 13c., "character attributed to someone;" late 13c., "celebrity, renown," from Old French fame "fame, reputation, renown, rumor," from Latin fama "talk, rumor, report, reputation," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (cf. Sanskrit bhanati "speaks;" Latin fari "to say," fabula "narrative, account, tale, story;" Armenian ban, bay "word, term;" Old Church Slavonic bajati "to talk, tell;" Old English boian "to boast," ben "prayer, request;" Greek pheme "talk," phone "voice, sound," phanai "to speak;" Old Irish bann "law").

The goddess Fama was the personification of rumor in Roman mythology. The Latin derivative fabulare was the colloquial word for "speak, talk" since the time of Plautus, whence Spanish hablar.

I've always been afraid I was going to tap the world on the shoulder for 20 years, and when it finally turned around I was going to forget what I had to say. [Tom Waits, "Playboy" magazine interview, March, 1988]