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Origin and history of traduce

traduce(v.)

1530s, "alter, change over, transport," from Latin traducere "change over, convert," also "lead in parade, make a show of, dishonor, disgrace," originally "lead along or across, bring through, transfer" (source also of French traduire, Spanish traducir, Italian tradurre), from trans "across, beyond" (see trans-) + ducere "to lead" (from PIE root *deuk- "to lead").

The sense of "defame, slander, misrepresent so as to hold up to or expose to ridicule or calumny" in English is by 1580s, from Latin traducere in the figurative sense of "scorn or disgrace," from the notion of "to lead along" as a spectacle.

Related: Traduced; traducing; traducement. The 17c. also tried a verb traduct, from the Latin past-participle stem, which was abandoned but traduction survived in some specialized learned senses. Traduce also formerly was used sometimes in English in the more literal sense of "pass along, transmit" (1560s), hence, in theology, traducian (n.) "one who holds the doctrine of transmission of the soul from the parents;" traducianistic.

also from 1530s

Entries linking to traduce

traducer(n.)

"slanderer, calumniator," 1610s, agent noun from traduce (v.).

transduction(n.)

"act of leading or carrying over," 1650s, from Latin transductionem/traducionem (nominative transductio) "a removal, transfer," noun of action from past-participle stem of transducere/traducere "change over, convert," also "lead in parade, make a show of, dishonor, disgrace," originally "lead along or across, bring through, transfer" (see traduce). With specialized senses in 20c. Related: Transductor.

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malign
early 14c., of things or behaviors, "wicked, sinful;" mid-15c., of persons, "having an evil disposition toward others, harboring violent hatred," from Old French maligne "having an evil nature," from Latin malignus "wicked, bad-natured," from male "badly" (see mal-) + -gnus "born
defame
"speak evil of, maliciously speak or write what injures the reputation of," c. 1300, from Old French defamer (13c., Modern French diffamer), from Medieval Latin defamare, from Latin diffamare "to spread abroad by ill report, make a scandal of," from dis-, here probably suggestive
slander
late 13c., sclaundre, "state of impaired reputation; disgrace or dishonor;" c. 1300, "a false tale or report spread maliciously; the fabrication and dissemination of false tales to discredit someone," from Anglo-French esclaundre, Old French esclandre "scandalous statement," alte
smirch
late 15c., smorchen, "to discolor, to make dirty" (also compare bismorched, mid-15c.), a word of uncertain origin, perhaps (OED) from Old French esmorcher "to torture," which is perhaps also "befoul, stain," from es- "out" (see ex-) + morcher "to bite," from Latin morsus, past pa
smear
Middle English smeren, from Old English smerian, smierwan, smyrian "anoint or rub with ointment, oil, etc.," from Proto-Germanic *smerwjan "to spread grease on" (source also of Old Norse smyrja "to anoint, rub with ointment," Danish smøre, Swedish smörja, Dutch smeren, Old High G
drag
late 14c., draggen, "to draw a grapnel along the bottom of a river, lake, etc., in search of something;" late 15c., "to draw away by force, pull haul," from Old Norse draga, or a dialectal variant of Old English dragan "to draw," both from Proto-Germanic *draganan "to draw, pull,
through
late 14c., metathesis of Old English þurh, from Proto-Germanic *thurx (source also of Old Saxon thuru, Old Frisian thruch, Middle Dutch dore, Dutch door, Old High German thuruh, German durch, Gothic þairh "through"), from PIE root *tere- (2) "to cross over, pass through, overcome
the
definite article, late Old English þe, nominative masculine form of the demonstrative pronoun and adjective. After c.950, it replaced earlier se (masc.), seo (fem.), þæt (neuter), and probably represents se altered by the th- form which was used in all the masculine oblique cases
bedlam
"scene of mad confusion," 1660s, from colloquial pronunciation of Bethlehem, short for "Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem" in London, which was founded 1247 as a priory, mentioned as a hospital by 1330 and as a lunatic hospital by 1402. It was converted to a civic lunatic asylu
lingerie
1835 (but not in widespread use until 1852), "linen underwear, especially as made for women," from French lingerie "linen goods, things made of linen," originally "laundry room, linen warehouse, linen shop, linen market" (15c.), also the name of a street in Paris, from linger "a

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