renown

Formsrenowns, renowning, renowned

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The condition of being widely known and celebrated; fame and broad public recognition.

   The chef earned international renown for her inventive desserts.

   Her renown spread far beyond the small town where she grew up.

   Similarfame, acclaim, prestige, eminence, distinction

   Oppositeobscurity, anonymity

   Note

   Behind this fame is a name said again and again: Old French renoun is built from re- and noun, so the renowned are those whose names keep being repeated. Its natural home is the phrase of renown. The King James Bible of 1611 speaks of men of renown, and Joyce's Ulysses (1922) of warriors and princes of high renown. It pairs with words of scale, such as great or high, and is usually uncountable.

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To cause a person, place, or thing to become widely famous.

   Decisive victories can renown a general for centuries.

   Their discoveries renown the small university across the scientific world.

   Similarimmortalize, glorify

3. 3
   nounobsoleteuncountable

   Spoken reports of a person's noble deeds or achievements, together with the praise given.

   Note

   Fame here is news rather than status: something that travels and is heard, not something a person holds. Shakespeare writes in The Tempest of the Duke of Milan, "Of whom so often I have heard renown", meaning the reports and praise that reached the speaker. The sense is obsolete, so it belongs to reading older texts. In modern writing, report or praise says it plainly, and "heard renown" would read as a slip.

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