famed

Etymology

It is formed from English fame + -ed, the past participle of the verb fame, to spread abroad or report,^[2][3][4][5] recorded from 1303.^[2] The verb is borrowed from Old French famer, from fame (“reputation, renown”),^[2][3][5] from Latin fāma (“talk, rumour, report; reputation”),^[3][6] which is related to for (“to speak”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Much talked about, known or alleged by report: the OED's first quotation is from Lord Berners's translation of Guevara's Golden Boke, before 1533;^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the first known use to about 1533,^[4] and Dictionary.com to 1525–35.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, rumoured or known by report, followed the old verb, which meant to report a person as being something.^[2] The sense "celebrated, renowned" is first recorded in Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 3 in 1595,^[2] and Johnson (1755) defined the word as "renowned; celebrated; much talked of", quoting the same play.^[7] The OED calls this use now archaic except in predicative use, usually with for (famed for something),^[2] and with a prefixed adverb, as in far-famed, from before 1797.^[2] The verb fame could also mean to slander, to fame (someone) foul, in the late 14th century.^[3]

Timeline

• 1303 – the verb fame, to report or spread abroad.^[2]
• before 1533 – famed, much talked about, rumoured.^[2][4]
• 1595 – celebrated, renowned.^[2]
• 1755 – Johnson defines it as renowned, celebrated, much talked of.^[7]
• before 1797 – with a prefixed adverb.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Widely known; famous or celebrated, often followed by for: a town famed for its cheese.^[4][2][8]
2. (obsolete) Talked about; known only by report, rumoured.^[2][3]

Word family

• far-famed

Related words

• fame
• famous
• infamous
• defame
• fable
• fate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin