Calumny is a noun that refers to a false and slanderous statement.

Our word of the day comes from the Latin word calumnia (kah LOOM nee uh) which means ‘trickery.’ It first appeared in the 15th century and you can find it in the Shakespearean play ‘Hamlet.’ Here’s an example of it in use:

I expected my first year in college to be rough, but I never thought I’d receive calumny from other students. These guys in clown college really fight dirty.