scandalous

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   giving offense to moral sensibilities and injurious to reputation

   Scandalous behavior.

2. 2
   adj

   Of a thing: causing or having the nature of a scandal; regarded as so immoral or wrong as to be extremely disgraceful; despicable, shameful.

   [S]omthing ſauors / Of Tyrannie, and vvill ignoble make you, / Yea, ſcandalous to the VVorld.

3. 3
   adj

   Of a person: delighted by scandal.

   You are the stateliest deer in all the herd— / Beyond his aim—but I am small and scandalous, / And love to hear bad tales of Philip.

4. 4
   adj

   Of speech or writing: defamatory, malicious.

   Theſe be the ſcandalous reportes of ſuch, / As loues not mee, and hate my Lord too much.

From Late Middle English scandalouse (“disgraceful, shameful”), borrowed from Old French scandaleux (“scandalous”) (modern French scandaleux), from Medieval Latin scandalōsus, from Ecclesiastical Latin scandalum (“scandal”) + Latin -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; prone to’ forming adjectives). Scandalum is derived from Ancient Greek σκᾰ́νδᾰλον (skắndălon, “offence, scandal; snare, trap”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Pre-Greek or Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to jump”) (referring to a device for climbing or jumping on, such as might be used by someone setting a trap). By surface...

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