English
infame
Infame comes from Latin īnfāmis ‘infamous’, from fāma ‘repute, fame’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂meh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāmā‘something said about another’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāma‘repute, fame’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfāmis‘infamous’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfāmāre
- Englishearliest quotation 1625infame
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂meh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāmā‘something said about another’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfāma‘repute, fame’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfāmis‘infamous’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfāmāre
- Englishearliest quotation 1625infame
Earliest quotation: 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Empire: “Livia is infamed for the poisoning of her husband.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
phone, focus, professor, fuel, ben, phase, ban, favourite, favor, fantasy, photographer, emphasis, profession, bee, fancy, fate, abandon, phenomenon, fabulous, fatal, fairy, phantom, symphony, beacon, beck, confession, confess, boon, eff, infant, bane, prophetic, epiphany, foyer, banish, fab, buoy, fay, profess, bene, 127 more
through Latin fāma ‘repute, fame’
Today it means
verb To defame; to make infamous.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / infame