Etymology

libel

L1I1B3E1L1

Today it means: A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation. Full definition →

Middle English libel ← Old French libelle ← Latin libellus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Latin · derived fromlibellus“petition”
  2. Old French · derived fromlibelle
  3. Middle English · inherited fromlibel
  4. English todaylibel

From Middle English libel, from Old French libelle, from Latin libellus (“petition”, literally “booklet”). Doublet of libelle.

Words from the same roots

Latinlibellus all →

libellary

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.