slan (slan)

A dialectal plural of sloe. Also slans. slander (slan'der), n. [Early mod. E. also slaun der, slaundre; IMG:content-1251.png:[blocks in formation] 2. Containing slander or defamation; calumnious; defamatory: as, slanderous words, speeches, or reports. He hath stirred up the people to persecute it with ex Shak ., Rich. III., i. 3. 231. probations and slanderous words. Latimer , 6th Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1549. 3t. Ill fame; bad name or repute. The sclaundre of Walter ofte and wyde spradde. Chaucer, Clerk's Tale, 1. 666. You shall not find me, daughter, After the slander of most stepmothers, Evil-eyed unto you. Shak., Cymbeline, i. 1. 71. 4. A false tale or report maliciously uttered, and intended or tending to injure the good name and reputation of another: as, a wicked and spiteful slander; specifically, in law, oral defamation published without legal excuse (Cooley). Defamation if not oral is termed libel. Asper sions spoken only to the subject of them are not in law deemed slander, because not injurious to reputation; but when spoken in the hearing of a third person they are deemed published. Slander is a tort only to be proceeded for in a civil action, while libel is also punishable crim i nally. IMG:content-1252.png:[blocks in formation] Swift .