Word of the Day

: April 5, 2021

reputation

noun rep-yuh-TAY-shun

What It Means

1 a : overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general

b : recognition by other people of some characteristic or ability

2 : a place in public esteem or regard : good name

reputation in Context

"It takes a lot of bravery to host a global conference online for the very first time, and exhibitors needed to apply what they've learned in digital communications, reputation, how to drive online buzz, and how to create relevant engagement inside of energy-sucking platforms to stand out unlike ever before." — Marty Swant, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2021

"Discovery has a similar rationale for Discovery+. [Chief operating officer David] Leavy said the company wanted to tap into consumers' affection for its flagship channel Discovery, which has a global reputation as a provider of adventure, exploration and nature programming. Adding the plus helps convey the wide range of unscripted fare from the company's other networks—from true crime to the guilty-pleasure reality series '90-Day Fiance.'" — Stephen Battaglio, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2020

Did You Know?

For reputation, the attainment of lexical esteem begins in 14th-century Middle English in the character of reputacion, which is a borrowing of an Anglo-French word with meanings similar to the English word (referring to such things as celebrity, distinction, good name, or estimation of character). The Anglo-French is from Latin reputation-, reputatio, meaning "consideration," and ultimately from reputare, "to reckon up or to think over." That Latinate verb couples the well-known "again" prefix re- with the verb putare ("to reckon"). Renowned celebrities of the putare family are the verb repute ("to believe or consider"), the identical noun (synonymous with reputation), the adjectives reputable and reputed, and the adverb reputedly. Other putare cousins of notoriety are dispute, disreputable, imputation, and putative, along with their kin.