notorious

Etymology

From Late Middle English notoryous, from Medieval Latin nōtōrius (“evident, known; famous, well-known; infamous”), from Latin nōtus (“known, recognized; familiar, widely known; famous, well-known; infamous”) + -tōrius (suffix forming adjectives). Nōtus is the perfect passive participle of nōscō (“to become acquainted with or learn about (something); (rare) to be familiar with, recognize”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know; to recognize”). cognates * Catalan notori (“well-known”) * Middle French notoire (Anglo-Norman notoire, notoir, notore, notorie, modern French notoire (“notorious; well-known”)) * Italian notorio (“notorious; well-known”) * Portuguese notorjo (obsolete), notório (“illustrious; open, public; notorious”) * Spanish notorio (“apparent, clear, obvious; well-known”)

adj

1. Senses with an unfavourable connotation.
   1. Of a person or entity: generally or widely known for something negative; infamous.
      Simon Forman was notorious in his day, and was a man of many reverses. 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: John Long, →OCLC, page 156
      But he William Bulger] forfeited this legacy long ago, shedding it in exchange for intense loyalty to another Boston power broker, his older brother, James (Whitey) Bulger, the city's notorious crime boss. 25 November 2013, Katharine Q. Seelye, “Sticking by a murderous brother, and paying for it dearly”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-10-25
      This is the Angola Prison Rodeo, a 53-year-old tradition at the biggest and most notorious prison in Louisiana, the incarceration capital of the world. 29 October 2016, Aviva Shen, “Angola prison rodeo offers risks and rewards for Louisiana’s hard-knock lifers”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-08-10
      The U.S. is notorious for spending oodles on health care, but health care has little to do with stopping the spread of infectious diseases. 25 June 2021, Olga Khazan, “We’re Not Ready for Another Pandemic”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-05
   2. Of an act, situation, etc.: blameworthy in an obvious and offensive way; blatant, flagrant.
2. Senses with a favourable or neutral connotation.
   1. Generally or widely known; of common knowledge; famous or well-known.
   2. (obsolete)
      1. Clear, evident, obvious.
      2. Generally or widely knowable.

adv

1. (obsolete) Synonym of notoriously