fame

Etymology

From Middle English fame, from Old French fame (“celebrity, renown”), itself borrowed from Latin fāma (“talk, rumor, report, reputation”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂-meh₂, from *bʰeh₂- (“to speak, say, tell”). Cognate with Ancient Greek φήμη (phḗmē, “talk”). Related also to Latin for (“speak, say”, verb), Old English bōian (“to boast”), Old English bēn (“prayer, request”), Old English bannan (“to summon, command, proclaim”). More at ban. Displaced native Old English hlīsa.

noun

1. (now rare) Something said or reported; gossip, rumour.
   If the accused could produce a specified number of honest neighbours to swear publicly that the suspicion was unfounded, and if no one else came forward to contradict them convincingly, the charge was dropped: otherwise the common fame was held to be true. 2012, Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex, Penguin, published 2013, page 23
2. One's reputation.
3. The state of being famous or well-known and spoken of.

verb

1. (transitive) to make (someone or something) famous