Notorious

Notorious

Adjective · /nəʊˈtɔː.ri.əs/

Definition

Famous or well-known, typically for some bad quality or deed; infamous; having a bad reputation that is widely known.

Origin

From Medieval Latin notorius (well-known, publicly known), from notus (known), past participle of noscere (to come to know), from Proto-Indo-European *gneh₃- (to know). The same root as know, knowledge, notify, notion, notoriety, notable, and noble. In Medieval Latin, notorius simply meant publicly known or evident — a notoria being a formal ecclesiastical document stating publicly known facts. The shift to the specifically negative connotation — known for something bad — occurring in English during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as the word was increasingly applied to criminals, sinners, and wrongdoers.