infamie

Forms

infamie f (plural infamies)^[1] Anglo-Norman enfamie.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin īnfāmia (“bad repute, disgrace, shame”),^[3][4][5][6] derived from īnfāmis (“of ill repute”) (the source of infâme).^[4][5][7] It drove out an older feminine noun infame (“disgrace, bad name”) (about 1223 to the 16th century), adapted from Late Latin īnfāmium, and the derivative infameté (1498), which lasted into the 17th century.^[3][4][5][8] Cognate with Occitan infamia, Spanish infamia and Italian infamia.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Anglo-Norman Dictionary has it from about 1270 for infamy and ill repute, and for an accusation.^[2] The TLFi's first record is in Pierre Bersuire's translation of Livy (1364–1373), for a dishonourable act or report: pour aucune infamie que il avoient oy dire de lui.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

In the late 15th century the word named the disgrace that public opinion puts on a person's name (1492).^[3][4] From 1549 it also named the legal loss of standing imposed by a court, in estre noté d'infamie.^[3][4] Montaigne used it for the state of such a disgraced person (1592), and Corneille for the shameful character of an act (1647).^[3][7] Brantôme, before 1614, used it for something foul and repulsive.^[3] The plural for infamous acts or words is recorded in 1690 by Furetière.^[3][4]

Like infâme, it has fallen out of most of its uses.^[4] Today it is mainly literary, for an infamous act or word, while the old sense of social or legal disgrace survives in the law and in phrases such as marque d'infamie.^[4][9] Old customary law had a couronne d'infamie, a woollen crown that a condemned person was sometimes made to wear.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1270 – First Anglo-Norman record.^[2]
• 1364–1373 – Bersuire uses it in his translation of Livy.^[3][8]
• 1492 – Used for disgrace imposed by public opinion.^[3][4]
• 1549 – Robert Estienne records the legal phrase estre noté d'infamie.^[3][4]
• 1592 – Montaigne uses it for the condition of a disgraced person.^[3]
• 1647 – Corneille uses it for the shamefulness of an act.^[3][9]
• 1690 – Furetière records the plural for infamous acts.^[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated or law) disgrace that the law or public opinion inflicts on someone's reputation: une marque d'infamie.^[9][3]
2. (literary) The baseness of an infamous person or the shamefulness of an act.^[9][3]
3. (literary) An infamous act or word, a vile slander: Il a répandu des infamies sur son voisin.^[9][8]

Related words

• infâme
• infamant
• Latin īnfāmia
• English infamy

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 658a
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert