different between tarnish vs infamy

English

Etymology

From Middle English ternysshen, a borrowing from Old French terniss-, stem of ternir (“to make dim, make wan”), borrowed from Frankish *darnijan (“to conceal”). Doublet of dern and darn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t??n??/

Noun

tarnish (usually uncountable, plural tarnishes)

1. Oxidation or discoloration, especially of a decorative metal exposed to air.
   • 1918, Hannah Teresa Rowley, Mrs. Helen Louise (Wales) Farrell, Principles of Chemistry Applied to the Household

     Precipitated calcium carbonate, a very fine powdery form, is used as a basis for many tooth powders and pastes. As whiting it finds a wide use in cleaning metals of their tarnishes.

Translations

Verb

tarnish (third-person singular simple present tarnishes, present participle tarnishing, simple past and past participle tarnished)

1. (intransitive) To oxidize or discolor due to oxidation.

2. (transitive) To compromise, damage, soil, or sully.

3. (intransitive, figuratively) To lose its lustre or attraction; to become dull.

Translations

Anagrams

• Hartins, rantish

English

Etymology

From late Middle English infamie, from Old French infamie, from Latin ?nf?mia (“infamy”), from ?nf?mis (“infamous”), from in- (“not”) + f?ma (“fame, renown”). Displaced native Old English unhl?sa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??nf?mi/
• Hyphenation: in?fa?my

Noun

infamy (countable and uncountable, plural infamies)

1. The state of being infamous.
2. A reputation as being evil.
   • December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Infamy Speech, [1]

     Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

3. A reprehensible occurrence or situation.
4. (law) A stigma attaching to a person's character that disqualifies them from being a witness.

Related terms

• fame
• infamous

Translations