Etymograph

English

infamous

Infamous comes from Medieval Latin īnfāmōsus ‘notorious, infamous’, from Latin fāma ‘repute, fame’, 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‘repute, fame’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfāmis3‘disreputable, notorious, infamous’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500īnfāmōsus3‘notorious, infamous’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enfamouse3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1791infamous3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin fama
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin infamis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English infamous
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, James Madison et al: “No person shall be held to answer for a…”.

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, Latin infamis‘repute, fame’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfāmisWiktionary, English infamous‘disreputable, notorious, infamous’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500īnfāmōsusWiktionary, English infamous‘notorious, infamous’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enfamouseWiktionary, English infamous
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1791infamousWiktionary, English infamous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, James Madison et al: “No person shall be held to answer for a…”

Linked words

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

phone, professor, focus, fuel, ben, phase, ban, favor, fantasy, photographer, favourite, emphasis, fancy, phenomenon, profession, fate, bee, abandon, fatal, fairy, phantom, symphony, beacon, confession, beck, confess, fabulous, boon, eff, infant, bane, prophetic, epiphany, fab, foyer, banish, fay, buoy, fable, profess, 127 more

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

defame, 4 more

through Latin fāma ‘repute, fame’

fame, 5 more

Today it means

adj Having a bad reputation; disreputable; notorious; unpleasant or evil; widely known, especially for something scornful.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “infamous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin fama, Latin infamis. 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- / infamous

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