An archaic or rare adjective meaning shameful, disgraced, or bringing disgrace; having lost one's good reputation.
From Middle English and Old French, combining 'de-' (down, away) and 'famous' (having fame). This adjectival form is now largely obsolete, replaced by 'defamatory' or simply 'disgraced.'
The word 'defamous' is so old-fashioned that finding it in modern texts is rare, but Shakespeare and earlier writers used it—the suffix shift from '-ous' to '-atory' shows how English evolved to make clearer distinctions between words.
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