scandal

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈskændəl/ (UK); /ˈskændəl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French scandale,^[2][3][4] from Late Latin scandalum (“cause of offence, stumbling block, temptation”),^[2][3][5] from Greek σκάνδαλον (skándalon, “a stumbling block; a snare laid for an enemy”), used in the Septuagint for a Hebrew word meaning a noose or snare.^[3][6] It is perhaps from PIE Proto-Indo-European *skand- (“to leap, climb”), as a sprung trap, though Beekes is sceptical.^[3] Slander is another form of the same word.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Discredit to religion caused by the conduct of a religious person: before 1225 in the OED; scandle in the Ancrene Riwle (about 1200), from Old French escandle.^[7][3] Barnhart dates the modern borrowing to 1581, and Etymonline thinks the modern word likely a new borrowing.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Word Origins notes that scandal was originally restricted to the Church.^[6] Damage to reputation is from the 1580s (1590 in the OED).^[3][7] Malicious gossip, and a shameful event or condition, are from the 1590s,^[3] and a person whose conduct is a disgrace by the 1630s.^[3] The scandal sheet, a sensational newspaper, is a later formation.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1225 – discredit to religion.^[7]
• 1581 – the modern borrowing.^[2]
• 1590 – damage to reputation.^[7]
• 1590s – malicious gossip.^[3]
• 1630s – a disgraceful person.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage.
2. Outrage or anger caused by such an action.
3. Malicious gossip; slander.
4. A situation regarded as shocking or deplorable: it's a scandal that.

Word family

• scandalise
• scandalize
• scandalmonger
• scandalous
• scandal sheet

Related words

• slander

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press