slander (slander)

t. [Early mod. E. also slaunder, sclaunder; And who euere schal sclaundre oon of thes litle bileuynge in me, it is good to him that a mylne stoon of a is were don aboute his necke, and were sent in to the see. Wyclif , Mark ix. 41. 21. To discredit; disgrace; dishonor. Tax not so bad a voice To slander music any more than once. Shak., Much Ado, ii. 3. 47. 3. To speak ill of; defame; calumniate; dis parage. When one is euill, he doth desire that all be euill; if he be sclaundered, that all be defamed. Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), p. 95. The leaf of eglantine, whom not to slander , Out-sweeten'd not thy breath. Shak., Cymbeline, iv. 2. 223. Specifically-4. In law, to utter false and injurious tales or reports regarding; injure or tarnish the good name and reputation of, by false tales maliciously told or propagated. See slander, n., 4, and compare libel. - 5. To reproach; charge: with with. To slander Valentine With falsehood, cowardice, and poor descent. Shak ., T. G. of V., iii. 2. 31. =Syn. 4. Defame, Calumniate, etc. See asperse. slanderer (slan'dėr-ér), n. [ The domes salle than be redy Tille the sklaunderers of God alle myghty. Hampole , Pricke of Conscience, 1. 7042. Railers or slanderers , tell-tales, or sowers of di ension. Jer. Taylor. slanderfullyt (slan'der-fül-i), adv. [ He had at all times, before the judges of his cause, used himself unreverently to the King's Majesty, and slander fully towards his council. Council Book , quoted in Strype's Cranmer, I. 322. As by flattery a man opens his bosom to his mortal enemy, so by detraction and a slanderous misreport he shuts the same to his best friends. South . 3. Given to slander; uttering defamatory words or tales. Done to death by slanderous tongues Was the Hero that here lies. Shak., Much Ado, v. 3. 3. slanderously (slan'der-us-li), adv. In a slanderous manner; with slander; calumniously; with false and malicious report. Rom. iii. 8. slanderousne (slan'der-us-nes), n. Slanderous or defamatory character or quality. slanet (slān), n. [ Dig your trench with slanes . Ellis , Modern Husbandman (1750), IV. ii. 40. (Davies.) Unfortunately, in cutting the turf where this was found, the slane or spade struck the middle; it only, however, bruised it. Col. Vallancy , quoted in Archæologia, VII. 167. slang1 (slang). An obsolete or archaic preterit of sling1.