fame

Definition

Something said or reported; gossip, rumour.

Etymology

From Middle English fame, from Old French fame (“celebrity, renown”), itself borrowed from Latin fāma (“talk, rumor, report, reputation”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂-meh₂, from *bʰeh₂- (“to speak, say, tell”). Cognate with Ancient Greek φήμη (phḗmē, “talk”). Related also to Latin for (“speak, say”, verb), Old English bōian (“to boast”), Old English bēn (“prayer, request”), Old English bannan (“to summon, command, proclaim”). More at ban. Displaced native Old English hlīsa.

Example Sentences

• "There went a fame in Heav'n that he ere long / Intended to create, and therein plant / A generation, whom his choice regard / Should favour […]."
• "If the accused could produce a specified number of honest neighbours to swear publicly that the suspicion was unfounded, and if no one else came forward to contradict them convincingly, the charge was dropped: otherwise the common fame was held to be true."
• "I find thou art no less than fame hath bruited."