[scan.dal] n [ME, fr. LL scandalum stumbling block, offense, fr. Gk skandalon trap, stumbling block, offense; akin to L scandere to climb] (13c) 1 a: discredit brought upon religion by unseemly conduct in a religious person b: conduct that causes or encourages a lapse of faith or of religious obedience in another
2: loss of or damage to reputation caused by actual or apparent violation of morality or propriety: disgrace 3 a: a circumstance or action that offends propriety or established moral conceptions or disgraces those associated with it b: a person whose conduct offends propriety or morality
4: malicious or defamatory gossip
5: indignation, chagrin, or bewilderment brought about by a flagrant violation of morality, propriety, or religious opinion syn see offense
[2]scandal vt (1592) 1 obs: disgrace
2. chiefly dial: defame, slander