Calumnious

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Marked by the tendency to spread malicious falsehoods about others
2. Relating to accusations that unjustly tarnish an individual's integrity
3. Having a nature that involves making harmful and false statements against someone

Etymology: "Calumnious" comes from Late Latin "calumniosus," meaning deceitful or full of false accusation. The Latin word itself grew from "calumnia," which carried the sense of a trick, a chicane, or a malicious charge brought in bad faith, especially in a legal setting. Roman courts treated calumnia as an offence in its own right, so an accuser who lodged a knowingly false charge could face penalty for the attempt. The adjective is built on "calumnia" with the suffix "-osus," the Latin ending that turns a noun into a description of something full of or characterised by that noun, the same pattern seen in "famous" from "fama." So a calumnious remark is, literally, one full of calumny. English took the form from Late Latin rather than from the classical Latin of Cicero's day, which is why it looks a little more worn than "calumniate," the verb that came into English from the same root.

Synonyms: slanderous, defamatory, malicious

Antonyms: honest, truthful