I. ˈlībəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin libellus, diminutive of liber book — more at leaf
1.
a. obsolete : a written declaration, bill, certificate, request, or supplication
b. : the written statement made in civil law and admiralty law practice and in proceedings in ecclesiastical and occasionally other courts by the plaintiff of his cause of action and the relief he seeks — compare declaration
c. Scots law : the part of an indictment stating the grounds of the charge
d. Scots law , archaic : the punishment attached to an offense
2. obsolete : a brief piece of writing (as a little book or short treatise)
3.
a. archaic : a handbill or circular especially attacking or defaming someone
b.
(1) : a written or oral defamatory statement or a representation or suggestion that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression
his criticism was a libel of the writer
the photograph is more a libel than a reproduction
(2) : a statement or representation published without just cause or excuse, expressed either in print or in writing or by pictures, effigies, or other signs and tending to expose another to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule : defamation of a person by means of written statements, pictures, or other visible signs : the publication of such writings or pictures as are of a blasphemous, treasonable, seditious, or obscene character — compare privileged communication 2, slander
(3) : the act, tort, or crime of publishing such a libel
II. verb
( libeled or libelled ; libeled or libelled ; libeling or libelling -b(ə)liŋ ; libels )
intransitive verb
1. : to spread defamation : make libelous statements — often used with against or on
2. : to institute legal proceedings by a libel
transitive verb
1. : to hurt the reputation of by malicious or unfair issue of any false or harmful representation : issue a libel against : make a libelous statement or insinuation about or representation of
2.
a. : to proceed against in law by filing a libel (as against a ship or goods)
b. : to allege in a libel
Synonyms: see malign