# Infamy > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Infamy > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Infamy.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamy > Source revision: 1297511893 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Notoriety gained from a negative incident or reputation For other uses, see [Infamy (disambiguation)](/source/Infamy_(disambiguation)). This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help clarify the article. There might be a discussion about this on the talk page. (October 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Infamy" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A statue of [George Washington](/source/George_Washington), in the [Smithsonian](/source/Smithsonian). The bare chest was generally considered disrespectful of the great statesman, which earned it the [epithet](/source/Epithet) *infamous.* **Infamy** is notoriety gained from actions considered dangerous, disrespectful, immoral, unethical, or otherwise perceived in a negative manner. An **infamous** person or organization is one considered to have said or done something that provokes public outrage, and often one who is considered [blameworthy](/source/Blame) and deserving of [punishment](/source/Punishment) even if no [sanction](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sanction) is actually applied. The term has been used in both secular and canon law in Europe since ancient times. ## Etymology The word stems from the [Latin](/source/Latin) *[infamia](/source/Infamia).*[1] It derives from the [Negation](/source/Affirmation_and_negation) **in** + **[fame](/source/Celebrity)** which implies public acclaim for doing something that pleases the public. The Proto-Indo-European root of that word is **bhā-* meaning to tell (as in blab or [megaphone](/source/Megaphone)).[2] ## Roman law Main article: [Infamia](/source/Infamia) In Roman law, infamy was a form of censure on individuals pronounced by the [censors](/source/Roman_censor) on moral grounds, in which the censure was the result of certain actions they had committed which did not rise to the level of an actual crime, or for pursuing a lifestyle that was considered technically legal but nonetheless [immoral](/source/Immorality). Such a censure involved disqualification for certain rights both in public and in private law.[1] ## In canon law Infamy is a term of art in [Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic) [canon law](/source/Canon_law). According to the *[Catholic Encyclopedia](/source/Catholic_Encyclopedia)* of 1913, infamy in the canonical sense is defined as the privation or lessening of one's good name as the result of the bad rating he has, even among prudent men. It constitutes an irregularity, a canonical impediment that prevents one being ordained or exercising such orders as he may have already received. There are two types of infamy: infamy of law (*infamia juris*) and infamy of fact (*infamia facti*).[3] ### Infamy of law *Infamy of law* is contracted in one of three ways. Either the law itself attaches this juridical ineligibility and incapacity to the commission of certain crimes, or makes it contingent upon the decision of a judge, or finally connects it with the penalty imposed by the judge. This kind of infamy is incurred chiefly by those guilty of [duelling](/source/Duel) (whether as principals or seconds), [rape](/source/Rape) (as likewise those who co-operate in it), attempt to marry during the lifetime of the actual consort, [heresy](/source/Heresy), real [simony](/source/Simony), etc. Infamy of law may be removed either by canonical purging or by application to the [Holy See](/source/Holy_See). ### Infamy of fact *Infamy of fact* is the result of a widespread opinion, by which the community attributes some unusually serious delinquency, such as [adultery](/source/Adultery) or the like, to a person. This is more of an unfitness than an irregularity properly so called, unless [sentence](/source/Sentence_(law)) in court has been pronounced. It ceases therefore when one has shown by a change of life extending over a period of two or probably three years that his repentance is sincere. ## Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth In the [Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth](/source/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth) infamy (infamia) was a more severe form of [exile](/source/Exile) sentence. A noble who has been sentenced to infamy, known as *infamis*, lost the protection of the law and there was a reward for his death (similar to the common law concept of [outlawry](/source/Outlaw)). In addition, a banished noble (*banita*) who killed an infamis one could expect his exile sentence to be revoked. ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-EB1911_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-EB1911_1-1) One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain): [Chisholm, Hugh](/source/Hugh_Chisholm), ed. (1911). "[Infamy](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Infamy)". *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition)*. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 512–513. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Online Etymology: PIE *bha-](https://www.etymonline.com/word/*bha-#etymonline_v_52548) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Delany, Joseph Francis (1910). ["Infamy"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Infamy). In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). *[Catholic Encyclopedia](/source/Catholic_Encyclopedia)*. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Infamy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.