Fame
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Something said or reported; gossip, rumour. archaic, uncountable, usually
"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 […]."
- 2 the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed wordnet
- 3 One's reputation. uncountable, usually
- 4 favorable public reputation wordnet
- 5 The state of being famous or well-known and spoken of, especially for something positive. uncountable, usually
"I find thou art no less than fame hath bruited."
- 1 to make (someone or something) famous transitive
Example
More examples"Despite adversity, the ingenious man achieved worldwide fame."
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.
Related phrases
More for "fame"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.