Etymograph

English

slander

Slander comes from Old French esclandre, from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum ‘stumbling block, temptation’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skend-1‘to jump’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσκάνδαλον2skándalon‘scandal’
  3. Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500scandalum2‘stumbling block, temptation’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400esclandre2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500slaundre2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1601slander2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον, which cites Beekes
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English slander
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […]: “Tuc[ca]. […] Can thy Author doe it impudently enough?…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skend-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον, which cites Beekes‘to jump’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσκάνδαλονWiktionary, English slanderskándalon‘scandal’
  3. Ecclesiastical Latinc. 200–1500scandalumWiktionary, English slander‘stumbling block, temptation’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400esclandreWiktionary, English slander
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500slaundreWiktionary, English slander
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1601slanderWiktionary, English slander. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1601, Ben Jonson, Poetaster or The Arraignment: […]: “Tuc[ca]. […] Can thy Author doe it impudently enough?…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump’

scale, scan, ascension, descend, 17 more

through Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον ‘scandal’

scandalous

through Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum ‘stumbling block, temptation’

2 more

Today it means

noun A false or unsupported, malicious statement (spoken, not written), especially one which is injurious to a person's reputation; the making of such a statement.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “slander”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek σκάνδαλον. 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 *skend- / slander

Shirt and support for this word