# calumny

Pronunciation: say "KAL-uhm-nee" /ˈkæləmni/

## Noun

1. False or distorted statements made in order to belittle or discredit someone; also, a single false accusation of this kind.
   - Simple: Lies or twisted stories told about a person to make others think badly of them.
   - _The senator dismissed the report as calumny cooked up by his rivals._
   - _She spent years defending her father's name against calumny and gossip._

## Verb

2. To accuse someone falsely or bring false charges against them, in order to damage their reputation or standing. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To say false and bad things about someone to hurt their good name.
   - _Opposition writers continued to calumny the general long after his death._
   - _The pamphlets calumnied the reformers as traitors in foreign pay._

## Origin

The verb was taken from French calomnier ("to slander"). That word came from Late Latin calumniāre, which was itself formed from Latin calumniārī, meaning to blame unjustly, to misrepresent, or to accuse falsely. The noun goes back to Late Middle English calumnie, meaning a false accusation or slander. English took it either from Old French calomnie, meaning slander, or straight from the Latin noun calumnia, which meant a false statement, a false accusation, or a malicious charge. Calumnia may be related to calvor ("to deceive"), and its roots may reach back to Proto-Indo-European. Calumny and challenge are doublets.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/calumny (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).