SCANDAL

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin ~um stumbling block, offense, from Greek skandalon trap, stumbling block, offense; akin to Latin scandere to climb Date: 13th century 1. discredit brought upon religion by unseemly conduct in a religious person, conduct that causes or encourages a lapse of faith or of religious obedience in another, loss of or damage to reputation caused by actual or apparent violation of morality or propriety ; disgrace , 3. a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions or disgraces those associated with it, a person whose conduct offends propriety or morality , malicious or defamatory gossip, indignation, chagrin, or bewilderment brought about by a flagrant violation of morality, propriety, or religious opinion, see: offense II. transitive verb Date: 1592 disgrace , defame , slander