Word of the day: obloquy

The word of the day is obloquy:

< Anglo-Norman obloquie calumny, detraction (late 13th cent.) and its etymon post-classical Latin obloquium contradiction, calumny (5th cent.; frequently in British sources c1125–1486) < classical Latin obloquī to speak against, gainsay, contradict < ob-ob- prefix + loquī to speak

1.a. Verbal abuse directed against a person or thing; detraction, calumny, slander. Formerly (also): †an abusive or calumnious speech or utterance (obs.).In quot. a1616 prob. with admixture of sense of obliquity or oblique (see etymological note).
 b. Abuse or detraction as it affects the person spoken against; the condition of being spoken against; ill repute; reproach, disgrace, notoriety. 

2. A cause, occasion, or object of detraction or reproach; a reproach, a disgrace. Obs. (OED)


"Mr. Carey’s first post, “The Queen’s English Society deplores your impurities,” exposes their ludicrous pretensions and goes on to link to some of the many writers on language who have heaped obloquy on the QES, smiting them hip and thigh (including some of the best lines from my posts on the subject)."

 - John E. McIntyre, "Meretricious Albion", 22 July 2011 You Don't Say