infamous English · revision 39852

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c1380, English Wycliffite Sermons|origins=la fāma}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɪn.fə.məs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-med|īnfāmōsus]],^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010)^(Klein 1966) which replaced [[m|la|īnfāmis|t=of ill fame, disreputable]],^(Hoad 1986)^(Klein 1966)^(Ayto 2005) formed [[m|la|in-|t=not]] and [[m|la|fāmōsus|t=celebrated]], the source of [[famous]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) The OED compares the rare [[fro|infameux]],^(OED 2026) and Barnhart thinks it may have been influenced by that word.^(Barnhart 1995) The Latin adjective ''īnfāmis'', from ''in-'' and [[m|la|fāma|t=report, reputation]], the source of [[fame]],^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) was also used in Middle English as [[m|enm|infamis]].^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026) According to Etymonline the modern word is a 16th-century merger of the two, taking its form from ''infamous'' (early 15th century) and its meaning from ''infamis'', of ill repute (late 14th century).^(Etymonline) Ayto points out that the Latin prefix here meant positively "bad", not simply "not", so the adjective meant "of ill repute" and never just "not well known".^(Ayto 2005)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of bad repute, notorious for wickedness: about 1380, of things, in the English Wycliffite sermons;^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Barnhart dates ''infamis'' in the sense "wicked, notorious" to about 1378,^(Barnhart 1995) Etymonline to the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster to the 14th century.^(MWU 2024) Dictionary.com gives 1350–1400.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Used of persons, the sense "of evil fame" is recorded from 1533, in Thomas More.^(OED 2026) From 1490 (Caxton) the word also meant deserving infamy, shamefully bad, and the OED calls it one of the strongest adjectives of condemnation in English.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the meaning "causing infamy" to the 1550s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) In law, an ''infamous'' person was one deprived of some or all of the rights of a citizen after conviction for certain crimes (1548),^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023) and an infamous crime or punishment one that brought such loss of rights (before 1575);^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the legal sense to the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) defined it as publicly branded with guilt, openly censured.^(Johnson 1755) The neutral ''fameless'', in the sense "not famous", is recorded from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) Weekley compared the strengthening of the negative sense with some compounds of ''dis-''.^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c1378 – ''infamis'', wicked, notorious.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c1380 – of ill fame, of things.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1490 – deserving infamy.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1533 – of persons, notorious.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1548 – (law) deprived of a citizen's rights.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1555 – of things, shamefully bad.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1755 – Johnson: publicly branded with guilt.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Well known for something bad; [[notorious]]: ''The bandit was infamous throughout the valley.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Shocking or wicked enough to bring [[disgrace]]: ''an infamous betrayal''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # (law, historical) Of a person: having lost certain [[civil]] rights on conviction for a serious crime; of a crime or punishment: entailing such a loss.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[infamously]]

+ * [[infamousness]]

+ * [[infamy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fame]]

+ * [[famous]]

+ * [[notorious]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The OED notes that the word was formerly stressed on the second syllable, as ''inˈfamous'', still so in Bailey's dictionary of 1730, though Milton already stressed the first.^(OED 2026) Dictionary.com compares ''famous'', ''infamous'' and ''notorious'': ''famous'' implies good repute, ''infamous'' a bad reputation, and ''notorious'' wide knowledge, usually of something unfavourable.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}