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Origin and history of scandal

scandal(n.)

1580s, "damage to one's reputation," from French scandale, from Late Latin scandalum "cause for offense, stumbling block, temptation," from Greek skandalon "a stumbling block, offense; a trap or snare laid for an enemy."

The Greek noun in this form seems to be attested first in Septuagint (25 times) and the Greek New Testament (15 times) as "cause of moral stumblings," translating a Hebrew word meaning "a noose, a snare."

The Biblical use is presumably figurative or metaphoric, and OED (1989) and others conclude that it is "certainly an old word meaning 'trap' " or a variant of one. Presumably, then, originally "trap with a springing device" (compare related skandalē "stick of a trap," the trigger which is pulled by the cord to spring it), if it is from PIE *skand- "to leap, climb" (see scale (v.1)), as is proposed in Watkins (Beekes is skeptical); also see slander (n.), which is another form of the same word.

The word is used in "Ancrene Riwle" (c. 1200), scandle, "discredit to religion resulting from bad behavior by a religious person," from Old French escandle, eschandle (12c.); Anglo-French scandle, and Latin scandalum. But the modern word likely is a new borrowing. Cockeram (English Dictionarie, 1623) describes it as "An offence which causeth one to take offence."

The meanings "malicious gossip" and "shameful condition, action, or event; that which causes scandal" are from 1590s; the sense of "person whose conduct is a disgrace" is by 1630s. Scandal sheet "sensational newspaper" is by 1884. Scandal-monger is from 1702.

also from 1580s

Entries linking to scandal

scale(v.1)

"to climb (a wall) by or as by a ladder; attack with scaling ladders," late 14c., scalen, from Latin scala "ladder, flight of stairs," from *scansla, from stem of scandere "to climb, rise, mount," which is reconstructed to be from PIE *skand- "to spring, leap, climb" (source also of Sanskrit skandati "hastens, leaps, jumps;" Greek skandalon "stumbling block;" Middle Irish sescaind "he sprang, jumped," sceinm "a bound, jump").

Middle English scale (n.) "ladder used in sieges," is attested c. 1400, from the Latin noun. The verb in general and figurative use (of mountains, heights of pleasure, etc.) is attested by 16c. Related: Scaled; scaling.

slander(n.)

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," alteration ("with interloping l" [Century Dictionary]) of escandle, escandre "scandal," from Latin scandalum "cause of offense, stumbling block, temptation" (see scandal).

It is attested from mid-14c. as "action or situation that brings shame or disgrace;" late 14c. as "a bad situation, evil action" and in reference to a person causing such a state of affairs.

The injury [slander] consists in falsely and maliciously charging another with the commission of some public offense criminal in itself, and indictable, and subjecting the party to an infamous punishment, or involving moral turpitude, or the breach of some public trust, or with any matter in relation to his particular trade or vocation, and which, if true, would render him unworthy of employment ; or, lastly, with any other matter or thing by which special injury is sustained. [James Kent, "Commentaries on American Law," 1844]
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More to explore

scandalize
late 15c. (Caxton), "make a public scandal of" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French scandaliser (12c.), from Church Latin scandalizare, from late Greek skandalizein "make to stumble; tempt; give offense to (someone)," from skandalon (see scandal). The sense of "shock by doing
stumble
c. 1300, stomblen, "to trip or miss one's footing" (physically or morally), probably from Old Norse (compare dialectal Norwegian stumla, Swedish stambla "to stumble"), and probably from a variant of Proto-Germanic *stam-, source of Old English stamerian "to stammer," German stumm
outrage
c. 1300, "evil deed, offense, crime; affront, indignity, act not within established or reasonable limits," of food, drink, dress, speech, etc., from Old French outrage "harm, damage; insult; criminal behavior; presumption, insolence, overweening" (12c.), earlier oltrage (11c.), f
defamatory
diffamatorius "tending to defame," from diffamat-, past-participle stem of diffamare "to spread abroad by ill report, make a scandal...
susurrus
equally liable; and another variety of the same tribe, more frequent among female patients, called the Susurrus criticus, or Scandal-buzz...
launder
Watergate scandal, 1973. Related: Laundered; laundering....
defamation
(nominative diffamatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of diffamare "to spread abroad by ill report, make a scandal...
comment
late 14c., "explanation, spoken or written remark," from Old French coment "commentary" or directly from Late Latin commentum "comment, interpretation," in classical Latin "invention, fabrication, fiction," neuter past participle of comminisci "to contrive, devise," from com-, he
gossip
Old English godsibb "sponsor, godparent," from God + sibb "relative" (see sibling). The sense was extended in Middle English to "a familiar acquaintance, a friend, neighbor" (c. 1300), especially to women friends invited to attend a birth, later to "anyone engaging in familiar or
skeleton
"the dry bones of a body taken together," 1570s, from Modern Latin sceleton "bones, bony framework of the body," from Greek skeleton soma "dried-up body, mummy, skeleton," from neuter of skeletos "dried-up" (also, as a noun, "dried body, mummy"), from skellein "dry up, make dry,

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