noun · femininefirst declension
fāma
fāma f (genitive fāmae)
Classical[ˈfaː.ma]Ecclesiastical[ˈfaː.ma]
№ 278 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- fame
- rumour, talk, opinion, report
hascine propter rēs maledicās fāmās ferunt.
Is it on account of these things that they spread slanderous reports?c. 195 BCE, Plautus, Trinummus 1.2.149“Oenōtrī coluēre virī; nunc fāma minōrēs
“Oenotrian men tilled [the land]; now rumor [has it that their] descendants call the nation ‘Italy’ after the name of its leader, [Italus].”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.532–533 - reputation
Dīmīcantī dē fāmā dēesse.
To abandon one whose reputation is attacked.Fāma tamen clāra est; et adhūc sine crīmine vīxī.
My good name is nevertheless unstained; and so far I have lived without blame.43 BCE – c. 17 CE, Ovidius, Heroides 17.17 (translation Benham's Book of Quotations 1948)
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quod dē aliquō nārrātur; fāma bona, mala.fāma -ae f — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs
id quod dē aliquō nārrāturfāma -ae (f) — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 8
id quod dē aliquō dīciturfāma -ae (f) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 2
dea rūmōris: quidquid dīcitur, fertFāma -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 18
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Rumor · Fama
Rumor (from ῥεῦμα), like report, is the uncertain, dark, often clandestine propagation of intelligence, in opp. to authentic assurance; fama (φήμη), like information, is the open and public propagation of intelligence, in opp. to ocular demonstration. The rumor interests only by its novelty, is an object of curiosity, and passes away with the generation in which it sprung up; the fama interests through its importance, is an object of research, and as a permanent property descends to posterity. (v. 233.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | fāma | fāmae |
| genitive | fāmae | fāmārum |
| dative | fāmae | fāmīs |
| accusative | fāmam | fāmās |
| ablative | fāmā | fāmīs |
| vocative | fāma | fāmae |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- famam dissipare
- to spread a rumour.
- rumor, fama viget
- a rumour is prevalent.
- fama serpit (per urbem)
- a report is spreading imperceptibly.
- famae servire, consulere
- to have regard for one's good name.
- magnam sui famam relinquere
- to leave a great reputation behind one.
- famis et sitis patientem esse
- to be able to endure hunger and thirst.
- gloriam, famam sibi comparare
- to gain distinction.
- rumor, fama, sermo est or manat
- report says; people say.
6 more phrases
- alicuius famam, laudem imminuere
- to detract from a person's reputation, wilfully underestimate a person.
- de gloria, fama alicuius detrahere
- to detract from a person's reputation, wilfully underestimate a person.
- auditione et fama accepisse aliquid
- to know from hearsay.
- famam ante collectam tueri, conservare
- to live up to one's reputation.
- famam crudelitatis subire (Catil. 4. 6. 12)
- to gain the reputation of cruelty.
- obscurare alicuius gloriam, laudem, famam (not obscurare aliquem)
- to render obscure, eclipse a person.
fāma, ae, f. for, fa-ri, = φήμη,
I. the talk of the multitude, like rumor, either as relating or as judging (v. rumor; cf. also: nomen, gloria, laudatio; clamor, plausus; honos, dignitas, honestas, laus, etc.).
I. That which people say or tell, the common talk, a report, rumor, saying, tradition (freq. and class.; plur. very rare); absol., or with a statement of the subject-matter annexed with de, or as an object-clause; rarely with gen.
a. Absol.:
hascine propter res maledicas famas ferunt? Plaut. Trin. 1, 2, 149: a Brundisio nulla adhuc fama venerat, Cic. Att. 9, 3, 2: cum tristis a Mutina fama manaret, id. Phil. 14, 6, 15: at fuit fama. Quotusquisque est, qui istam effugere potest in tam maledica civitate? id. Cael. 16, 38: magna illico fama surrexit, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 8, 2: aliquod fama ac nuntiis afferre, Caes. B. G. 6, 30, 2: hac fama ad Treviros perlata, id. ib. 5, 53, 2: reliquos (deos) ne famā quidem acceperunt, id. ib. 6, 21, 2; cf.: quam Eratostheni et quibusdam Graecis famā notam esse video, id. ib. 6, 24, 2: concedamus famae hominum, Cic. Rep. 2, 2: Daedalus, ut fama est, fugiens, etc., Verg. A. 6, 14; cf.: pulsis (vetus est ut fama) Sabellis, Hor. S. 2, 1, 36: ita fama ferebat, Ov. M. 12, 197: duplex inde fama est, a twofold tradition, Liv. 1, 1, 6.— In plur.: inhonestas famas adjungere diis, Arn. 7, 219: per omnem provinciam magnae atrocesque famae ibant, Sall. H. 1, 67 Dietsch, ex conj.—b. Stating the subject-matter or contents.
(a). With de:
si quis quid de republica a finitimis rumore aut fama acceperit, Caes. B. G. 6, 20, 1: si quid ipsi audistis communi fama atque sermone de vi, de manu, de armis, etc., Cic. Fl. 6, 13: de interitu P. Clodii, id. Mil. 35, 98: de Afranio fama est, id. Att. 7, 26, 1: de Titurii morte, Caes. B. G. 5, 39, 1; cf.: de victoria Caesaris, id. ib. 5, 53, 1; 5, 51, 1: de proelio Dyrrhachino, id. B. C. 3, 80.—Plur.: ingentes esse famas de Regulo, Arrunt. ap. Sen. Ep. 114, 19 fin.—(b). With an appos. clause:
ne mihi hanc famam differant, Me ... dedisse, etc., Plaut. Trin. 3, 2, 63; v. differo, B. 2.: accipere fama et auditione, esse quoddam numen et vim deorum, Cic. N. D. 2, 37, 95: quod tibi esse antiquissimum constante famā atque omnium sermone celebratum est, id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 8, § 24; so, constans fama, Liv. 6, 25, 4: cum esse praestantem Numam Pompilium fama ferret, Cic. Rep. 2, 13: cum fama per orbem terrarum percrebuisset, illum, etc., Caes. B. C. 3, 43 fin.: fama nuntiabat, te esse in Syria, Cic. Fam. 12, 4, 2: fama incerta duos equites venisse, a vague rumor, Liv. 27, 50, 6: capsis quem (Cassium) fama est esse librisque Ambustum propriis, Hor. S. 1, 10, 63 al.—(g). With gen.:
vix ad aures meas istius suspicionis fama pervenit, Cic. Sull. 4, 12: propter incertam famam aeris alieni, an unsupported rumor, Liv. 6, 27, 3.—B. Personified: Fama, a goddess, daughter of Terra, swiftfooted, all-seeing, growing as she runs:
Fama, malum qua non aliud velocius ullum, Verg. A. 4, 173 sq.; Ov. M. 12, 43 sq.; Val. Fl. 2, 116 sq.; Stat. Th. 3, 426 sq.; Ov. M. 8, 267; 9, 137; 14, 726; 15, 4; 853 al.II. The voice or judgment of the many, public opinion; more freq. objectively, the fame, character, reputation which a man has, either in general or in particular, as a good or bad reputation, etc. (very freq. and class.).
A. In gen.:
famam atque rumores pars altera consensum civitatis et velut publicum testimonium vocat: altera sermonem sine ullo certo auctore dispersum, cui malignitas initium dederit, incrementum credulitas, Quint. 5, 3; cf.: adversus famam rumoresque hominum si satis firmus steteris, Liv. 22, 39, 18: contra opinionem militum famamque omnium videri proelium defugisse, magnum detrimentum afferebat, Caes. B. C. 1, 82, 2; cf. id. ib. 3, 56 fin.: fama popularis, popular fame or favor, Cic. Tusc. 3, 2, 4; 5, 16, 46: forensis, Q. Cic. Petit. Cons. 5, 17: de bona fama (quam enim appellant εὐδοξίαν, aptius est hoc loco bonam famam appellare quam gloriam), Cic. Fin. 3, 17, 57: bona de Domitio, praeclara de Afranio fama est, id. Att. 7, 26, 1; cf.: qui bonam famam bonorum, quae sola vere gloria nominari potest, expetunt, id. Sest. 66, 139; Sall. C. 7, 6: si bonam famam mihi servasso, sat ero dives, Plaut. Most. 1, 3, 70 sq.: bona, Cat. 61, 62: bene loquendi fama, Cic. Brut. 74, 259: eloquentiae, Quint. 7, 1, 41: sapientiae, Cic. Lael. 4, 15: pudica, Prop. 2, 32 (3, 30), 21: alium mala fama et timor impediebat, Sall. J. 35, 4: inconstantiae, Cic. Fam. 1, 9, 11: vappae ac nebulonis, Hor. S. 1, 2, 12.—In plur.: inter arma civilia aequi boni famas petit, Sall. Fragm. ap. Sen. Ep. 114, 19 (Hist. inc. lib. 76 Dietsch).—B. In partic.
1. In a good sense, fair fame, reputation, renown, = existumatio, fama bona:
ut vos mihi domi eritis, proinde ego ero famā foris, Tert. Hec. 2, 1, 21: fundamentum est perpetuae commendationis et famae justitia, Cic. Off. 2, 20, 71: fama et existimatio, id. Quint. 15, 50; cf.: ut ante collectam famam conservet (for which, shortly after: habet existimationem multo sudore collectam), id. Div. in Caecil. 22, 71: sic ejus (Archiae) adventus celebrabantur, ut famam ingenii exspectatio hominis superaret ... hac tanta celebritate famae cum esset jam absentibus notus, etc. (shortly before: celeriter antecellere omnibus ingenii gloriā contigit), id. Arch. 3, 5; so corresp. to gloria, id. Tusc. 1, 46, 110: fama ingeni abicienda, id. Fam. 9, 16, 3; with the latter cf.: anxius de fama ingenii, Quint. 11, 1, 50; 74: de alicujus fama detrahere, Cic. Fam. 3, 8, 5: famam in tuto collocare, Quint. 12, 11, 7: ejus scripta tantum intra famam sunt, id. 11, 3, 8: ad famam populi Romani pertinere, eos consules esse, etc., Liv. 10, 24, 17: (ut amicorum) aut caput agatur aut fama, Cic. Lael. 17, 61: loco, fortuna, fama superiores, id. ib. 25, 94: virtus, fama, decus divitiis parent, Hor. S. 2, 3, 95: cui gratia, fama, valetudo, contingat abunde, id. Ep. 1, 4, 10: famam dicendi fortius quaerunt, Quint. 2, 12, 9: Evadne ... Occidit Argivae fama pudicitiae, the glory or pride of Argive chastity, i. e. of the chaste women of Argos, Prop. 1, 15, 22.—Esp.: magna fama, great reputation, fame, glory: magnam famam attulisse Fabio Tarentum rebatur, Liv. 27, 25, 11: magnam famam sui relinquere, Nep. Lys. 1, 1: habere, Plin. 36, 21, 39, § 149.—2. In a bad sense, illfame, infamy, scandal, = infamia, fama mala (rare): opplere (aliquem) famā ac flagitiis, Turp. ap. Non. 306, 2; Ter. Ad. 2, 3, 10:
neque specie famāve movetur, Nec jam furtivum Dido meditatur amorem, Verg. A. 4, 172; Sall. C. 3, 5; Tac. A. 12, 49; Plin. Pan. 28, 1; cf.: laeta apud plerosque, apud quosdam sinistra fama, Tac. A. 11, 19.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
fāma ae, f
1 FA-, a report, rumor, saying, talk, tradition : hac famā inpulsus, T.: a Brundisio nulla fama venerat: tristis a Mutinā: fama ac nuntius adferretur, Cs.: alqd famā accipere, to hear of , Cs.: fama est obscurior annis, V.: vaga, O.: ut fama est, V.: vetus est ut fama, H.: ita fama ferebat, O.: duplex inde fama est, a twofold tradition , L.: Romae constans fama omnium erat, esse, etc., L.: fama incerta duos equites venisse, a vague rumor , L.: fama occupat aurīs, Helenum regnare, V.: de interitu Clodi: istius suspicionis: incerta aeris alieni, L.—Person., Rumor : Fama, malum quā non aliud velocius ullum, V.: Fama tenet domum, etc., O.— Public opinion, the popular voice, fame, repute, reputation : id si non fama adprobat, T.: adversus famam rumoresque hominum, L.: contra famam omnium, Cs.: turpis, infamy , S.: mala, S.: popularis, favor : pudica, Pr.: bona bonorum: bene loquendi: vappae ac nebulonis, H.— Fair fame, reputation, renown, fame, good repute : Tua fama in dubium veniet, T.: fundamentum est famae iustitia: famae consulere, S.: ingeni: populi R., L.: fortunā, famā superiores: fama decus Divitiis parent, H.: magnam famam attulisse Fabio, glory , L.— Ill-fame, blame, reproach, scandal : famam in se transtulit, T.: me fama atque invidia vexabat, S.: veterum malorum, V.: neque famam patieris inultae, the disgrace of remaining unavenged , V.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *fāmā, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂meh₂, from *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”). Cognate to Ancient Greek φήμη (phḗmē, “talk”).
Descendants
- Catalanfama
- Englishfame
- Frenchfameux
- Italianfama
- Portuguesefama
- Romanianfaimă
- Spanishfama
- Albanianfamë
- Asturianfama
- Dutchfaam