2022-03-16
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน - Set – F - famed & famous & notorious
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com:
ออกเสียง famed = “FEYMD”
ออกเสียง famous = “FEY-muhs”
ออกเสียง notorious = “noh-TAWR-ee-uhs” or “-TOHR-“
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions:
famed & famous & notorious
The first two of these words have about the same meaning:
“celebrated,” “acclaimed,” ‘renowned.”
Each, however, is overused in an exaggerated sense of “well-known.”
Notorious has a meaning of “infamous,”
“known widely and unfavorably.”
George Washington was famed and famous;
Benedict Arnold was notorious.
Dictionary.com:
SYNONYM STUDY FOR FAMOUS
Famous, Celebrated, Eminent, Distinguished
refer to someone or something widely and favorably known.
Famous is the general word:
a famous lighthouse.
Celebrated originally referred to something commemorated,
but now usually refers to someone or something widely known
for conspicuous merit, services, etc.:
a celebrated writer.
Eminent implies high standing among one's contemporaries,
especially in one's own profession or craft:
an eminent physician.
Distinguished adds to eminent the idea of honors conferred more or less publicly:
a distinguished scientist.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Choose the Right Synonym for famous
Famous, Renowned, Celebrated, Noted, Notorious, Distinguished,
Eminent, Illustrious
mean known far and wide.
Famous implies little more than the fact of being, sometimes briefly,
widely and popularly known.
a famous actress
Renowned implies more glory and acclamation.
one of the most renowned figures in sports history
Celebrated implies notice and attention especially in print.
the most celebrated beauty of her day
Noted suggestswell-deserved public attention.
the noted mystery writer
Notorious frequently adds to Famous an implication of questionableness or evil.
a notorious gangster
Distinguished implies acknowledged excellence or superiority.
a distinguished scientist who won the Nobel Prize
Eminent implies even greater prominence for outstanding quality or character.
the country's most eminent writers
Illustrious stresses enduring honor and glory attached to a deed or person.
illustrious war heroes
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Usage Notes
Famous vs. Infamous
The prefix is not your friend
What to Know
Famous means "widely known,"
while infamous means "having a reputation of the worst kind."
This can be confusing because the prefix in- often implies
an opposite or a negation,
but it can also mean "inward" or "thoroughly."
This is why infamous does not mean "not famous."
Perhaps you are one of those people
who has looked up the word infamous
because you can’t seem to quite remember
whether it’s supposed to mean “very famous,” “not famous,”
“famous (but in a bad way),” or some other thing.
If this is the case, you are in excellent company:
our records indicate that approximately 88,000 people
searched for the word infamous on this site in a recent month.
Origin of Famous and Infamous
Yes, famous and infamous have some similarities
(both words are descended from the Latin fama, meaning “fame,”
and both often have to do with being well-known),
but they have decidedly different meanings.
Famous typically carries the meaning of “widely known,”
and is often used in a positive manner;
infamous, on the other hand, has a negative set of meanings,
such as “having a reputation of the worst kind”
or “causing or bringing infamy.”
There you have it.
One of these words means one thing,
and the other word means something else.
It’s all very simple isn’t it? No, it is not.
Here are a few ways that things which look simple in English
are decidedly not so.
Synonyms that Sound Like Opposites
The word lock means “to fasten (something) with a lock.”
So what does the word unlock mean?
If you guessed “to unfasten the lock of” pat yourself on the back.
Now let’s move on to another question:
if the word thaw means “to stop being frozen”
what does the word unthaw mean?
If you guessed something along the lines of “to make something frozen,”
well, hang your head in shame and befuddlement.
The definition of unthaw is “thaw.”
Similarly, unloosen is pretty much identical to loosen,
invaluable and valuable are much more synonyms than antonyms,
and to really muddy the waters we can bring up
the issue of flammable and inflammable.
Why must this be so?
Was the English language actually created by a cruel and vengeful god,
or was it perhaps all put together in a single afternoon
by a committee of unlearned and bickering idiots?
No, neither of these theories, so far as we can tell,
have much evidence to support them.
There is a perfectly valid reason
for why so many apparently opposite words have the same,
or almost the same, meaning,
and it has to do with the role played by one of our prefixes.
The Prefix "In-"
The prefix we are concerned with here (in-)
can have a variety of both meanings and forms.
It can take the forms of il-, im-, or ir-,
in addition to in-, depending on what letter it precedes.
It can mean “not,” (inconclusive),
and it can also mean “inward, into, toward”
(as in implode or irradicate).
And in a final confusing twist,
it can also serve as an intensifier, meaning “thoroughly”
(which is possibly why so many people think infamous
means “very famous”).
Infamous contains the version of in- which implies negation,
although it does not actually mean “not famous.”
You do not actually have to be famous to be infamous,
although we are unlikely to see this latter word
applied to a person who is little-known, inconspicuous,
or who has not achieved at least some degree of notoriety.
If the distinction continues to prove elusive,
you can always try to remember that
the noun form of infamous is infamy,
which has no pleasant connotations,
and which was immortalized in our language
with its use by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
when he gave a speech referring to the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor
as “a date which will live in infamy.”
Collins COBUID English Dictionary:
Famous – well-known – notorious - infamous
1. 'famous'
If someone or something is famous,
very many people know about them.
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a famous writer?
...the world's most famous picture.
2. 'well-known'
Well-known has a similar meaning to famous.
However, a well-known person or thing
is usually known to fewer people
or in a smaller area than a famous one.
...a club run by Paul Ross, a well-known Lakeland climber.
...his two well-known books on modern art.
Well-known can be spelled with or without a hyphen.
You usually spell it
with a hyphen in front of a noun
and without a hyphen after a verb.
I took him to a well-known doctor in Harley Street.
The building became very well known.
3. 'notorious'
Someone or something that is notorious
is well known for something that is bad or undesirable.
The area was notorious for murders.
...his notorious arrogance.
4. 'infamous'
People and things are described as infamous
when they are well known
because they are connected with wicked or cruel behaviour.
...the infamous serial killer known as 'the Boston Strangler'.
...the infamous shower scene from Psycho.
Dictionary.com:
MORE ABOUT NOTORIOUS
What does notorious mean?
Notorious most commonly means famous
or well-known for a negative reason.
The word is especially used to describe
people who are widely known
and viewed unfavorably for their actions,
such as notorious criminals.
It can also be applied to events,
as in a notorious scandal.
This sense of notorious is often used interchangeably
with the word infamous.
Strictly speaking,
infamous means
having, deserving, or resulting in a bad or evil reputation,
while notorious usually implies that
a person is both famous and disliked.
Still, they usually mean just about the same thing.
Notorious can also mean known for a particular trait or action,
not necessarily a bad one.
For example,
you might be notorious for wearing the same outfit every Friday,
or your aunt might be notorious for arriving late to family events.
The state or quality of being notorious is notoriety.
Example:
The island prison known as Alcatraz was known
for holding some of America’s most notorious criminals.
Where does notorious come from?
The first records of the word notorious come from the mid-1500s.
It comes from the Medieval Latin word nōtōrius,
meaning “well-known” or “public,” from the Late Latin nōtōria,
meaning “news” or “a notice,” and nōtōrium, “a criminal charge.”
It’s ultimately rooted in the Latin verb nōscere, “to know.”
Notorious people are known for something specific,
and it’s usually not something good.
Often, the worse the thing is, the more notorious the person is.
That’s why the word is most closely
associated with violent criminals whose crimes are widely known.
Still, the wordisn’t always used in a completely negative way.
Among the people who know you,
you can be notorious for something neutral
or something that’s only slightly bad,
like being notorious for pulling pranks or not washing your dishes.
In popular culture,
notorious is known for its use in the stage name of rapper
The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace),
which later inspired a nickname for Supreme Court Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg based on her initials: The Notorious R.B.G.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Choose the Right Synonym for notorious
Famous, Renowned, Celebrated, Noted, Notorious, Distinguished,
Eminent, Illustrious
mean known far and wide.
Famous implies little more than the fact of being, sometimes briefly,
widely and popularly known.
a famous actress
Renowned implies more glory and acclamation.
one of the most renowned figures in sports history
Celebrated implies notice and attention especially in print.
the most celebrated beauty of her day
Noted suggests well-deserved public attention.
the noted mystery writer
Notorious frequently adds to Famous an implication of questionableness or evil.
a notorious gangster
Distinguished implies acknowledged excellence or superiority.
a distinguished scientist who won the Nobel Prize
Eminent implies even greater prominence for outstanding quality or character.
the country's most eminent writers
Illustrious stresses enduring honor and glory attached to a deed or person.
illustrious war heroes
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Did you know?
Notorious was adopted into English in the 16th century from
Medieval Latin notorius, itself from Late Latin's noun notorium,
meaning "information" or "indictment."
Notorium, in turn, derives from the Latin verb noscere,
meaning "to come to know."
Although notorious can be a synonym of famous,
meaning simply "widely known,"
it long ago developed the additional implication
of someone or something unpleasant or undesirable.
The Book of Common Prayer of 1549
includes one of the first known uses of the unfavorable meaning in print,
referring to "notorious synners."
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Usage Notes
Is 'Notorious' Always Negative?
The word has a bad reputation
Notorious is a word that got a bad rap
by association with an undesirable lot.
The word comes from the Late Latin noun notorium,
meaning "information" or "indictment,"
which in turn is from noscere, "to come to know."
It was first used in the 16th century with the neutral meaning
"well or widely known," but very early it came to be used with nouns
of unsavory meaning
—one of the earliest uses is the combination "notorious sinners."
Frequent use with nouns of this kind colored the subsequent
use of the word with a pejorative connotation,
leading to the word's most frequently used sense,
"widely and unfavorably known."
Although notorious is always pejorative
when linked with a noun for an undesirable person,
there are instances
when the word is applied to people in a playful or witty way:
Design plays a bigger part on the series
than it's ever played on another drama;
show creator Matthew Weiner is a notorious perfectionist,
and set decorator Claudette Didul goes to extreme lengths
to ensure that everything … looks period-perfect.
— Andrew Romano, The Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2015
… Alben and I had our pictures taken,
as is usual when notorious persons leave or arrive in cities.
— Harry S. Truman, diary, 20 Sept. 1945
Just as important, the Bucs are a notorious fastball-hitting team
that struggles mightily versus off-speed stuff.
— Joe Strauss, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5 Oct. 2013
Note that in each of these non-pejorative examples
the selection of notorious rather than well-known, famous, etc.,
is undoubtedly due to the word's overtones.
When notorious is applied to terms that refer to something not human,
it often verges on the neutral.
Still, if weather, a book, or a fish is described as notorious
—in the absence of clues to the contrary
—the effect of the word will be pejorative.
As we began to chat, Portland's notorious wet weather
began to create streams of potential energy all around us.
—Hari Sreenivasan, speaking on PBS, 14 Apr. 2015
In 1994, Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray published
their notorious volume, The Bell Curve:
Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life.
—Ian Tattersall, Natural History, February 2013
Among the many animals here, three thousand species of fish.
Some notorious.
We're on a fishing expedition like no other to catch piranha.
— Keir Simmons, speaking on NBC News, 16 Aug. 2016
When there is no intended overtone, as is sometimes the case,
notorious is used as a more emphatic term for famous, well-known, etc.
But even in its neutral uses,
the term's association with the unfavorable, disreputable,
and unsavory colors its meaning in a way that those other words do not.
Yellow wigs and gum balls can only mean one thing.
The notorious Project Runway unconventional materials challenge
where designers create fashion out of decidedly unfashionable stuff.
— Savannah Guthrie, speaking on NBC news, 15 Sept. 2016
He'd smile after he'd struck somebody out
with his notorious 90-plus-mile-an-hour fastball.
— Eyder Peralta, speaking on NPR, 26 Sept. 2016
There are also instances
in which meaning is entirely dependent on
the matter that follows the word.
In the construction notorious for, for example,
meaning only comes to light after for.
The following examples illustrate the "unfavorably known" sense of word.
The NFL, notorious for fining players
to veer from its strict uniform policy,
yesterday announced a one-week amnesty.
Week 13 of this NFL season, players will be allowed to wear special cleats
as long as they are worn for a cause.
— Jared Max, speaking on the Fox Network, 13 Sept. 2016
Millennials are notorious for their low voter turnout,
but their political clout is growing.
— Robert Siegel, speaking on NPR, 22 Aug. 2016
Comedians are notorious for pushing back against authority.
— The National Review, 6 July 2015
In the same construction, notorious can be used
in its "generally known" sense.
Bass (pike and pickerel, too) are notorious for feeding around weeds.
—Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, May 2011
Sandy Creek's fans are notorious for supporting the team.
—Michael Carvell, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9 Dec. 2009
Avery ... will be even faster in the Edward Jones Dome,
which is notorious for having the fastest surface in the league.
— John McClain, The Houston Chronicle, 27 Apr. 2008
Another frequent construction is notorious that.
In that phrasing, the word is nearly always used in its neutral
"generally known and talked of" sense;
again, any pejorative intent has to be supplied by the matter
following that, which seldom happens:
Two decades ago, it was notorious that family physicians
overprescribed antibiotics.
— Lawrie McFarlane, The Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia), 29 Nov. 2015
Clinton’s penchant for spicy food is reportedly so notorious
that flight stewards bring jalapeño slices to her with every dish.
— Jennifer Madison, The Independent Online, 15 July 2011
Sales at Jos. A Bank have been consistently declining
since it stopped doing its infamous "buy one, get many free" promotions.
The sales were so notorious that they were mocked by Saturday Night Live.
— Mallory Schlossberg, Business Insider, 10 Mar. 2016
As you can see from the examples,
most people have no problem handling notorious
and are aware of its overtones.
All you have to remember
is that it always seems to have a certain piquancy, a certain bite,
from its frequent association with persons and things of undesirable character.
Even when it is neutral in denotation, it has that characteristic flavor
—but there are ways to subdue it.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree:
notorious
= widely and unfavorably known;
= disreputable; infamous:
a notorious bank robber
Not to be confused with:
notable – prominent, important, or distinguished;
famous; great; eminent:
a notable philanthropist
noted – well-known; celebrated:
a noted musician
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language:
no·to′ri·ous·ly adv.
no·to′ri·ous·ness n.
Usage Note:
Although notorious and notoriety
have been used in negative, positive, and neutral contexts
since the 1500s, over the years,
notorious (and to a lesser extent notoriety)
has come to be used primarily in negative contexts,
often with a connotation of wickedness or undesirability.
In our 2011 survey, 81 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the sentence
The region is notorious for its seismic disturbances,
whereas only 26 percent accepted a sentence
that used notorious
in a situation where the circumstances for fame are positive:
She is notorious for her excellent standup comedy routines.
The Panel is somewhat more willing
to accept notoriety in a positive context:
almost half (45 percent) approved of the sentence
His success on college campuses brought him enough notoriety
to release a greatest hits CD.
