Etymograph

English

defame

Defame comes from Anglo-Norman defamer, from Latin diffāmō ‘to defame, malign, decry’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-1‘to speak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂meh₂1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāmā1‘something said about another’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāma2‘fame’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiffāmō2‘to defame, malign, decry’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400defamer2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defamen2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1613defame2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin fama
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English defame
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1613, John Marston, William Barksted: “And all the sparks that may bring unto flame…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-Wiktionary, Latin fama‘to speak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂meh₂Wiktionary, Latin famareconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāmāWiktionary, Latin fama‘something said about another’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāmaWiktionary, English defame‘fame’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiffāmōWiktionary, English defame‘to defame, malign, decry’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400defamerWiktionary, English defame
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500defamenWiktionary, English defame
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1613defameWiktionary, English defame. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1613, John Marston, William Barksted: “And all the sparks that may bring unto flame…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’

phone, focus, professor, fuel, ben, phase, ban, favourite, favor, fantasy, photographer, emphasis, profession, bee, fancy, fate, abandon, phenomenon, confession, fabulous, fatal, confess, fairy, phantom, symphony, infant, beacon, beck, boon, bane, prophetic, epiphany, foyer, banish, eff, fab, buoy, fay, profess, bene, 126 more

through Proto-Italic *fāmā ‘something said about another’

infamous, 3 more

through Latin fāma ‘fame’

famous, infamy, 4 more

Today it means

verb To disgrace; to bring into disrepute.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “defame”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin fama. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / defame

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