backbite

See also: back-bite

English

Alternative forms

• back-bite

Etymology

From Middle English bakbiten, bacbiten, equivalent to back- +‎ bite. Cognate with Icelandic bakbíta (“to backbite, vilify”).

Verb

backbite (third-person singular simple present backbites, present participle backbiting, simple past backbit, past participle backbitten)

1. To make spiteful slanderous or defamatory statements about someone.
   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 213:

     They beguiled the time by backbiting and intriguing against each other in a foolish kind of way.

   • 2007 March 16, Capcom Production Studio 4, quoting Gumshoe, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, Europe: Capcom, →OCLC, Nintendo DS, scene: Part 3: Investigation, Plaza, level/area: Turnabout Big Top:

     Gumshoe: You're not gonna get me to backbite a woman with a whip. No way.

2. (informal) To attack from behind or when out of earshot with spiteful or defamatory remarks.
3. To speak badly of an absent individual.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:defame

Derived terms

• backbiter
• backbiting

Translations

to make defamatory statements about another

Arabic: اِغْتَابَ (iḡtāba), أَبَرَ (ar) (ʔabara) Azerbaijani: pisləmək, yamanlamaq Bulgarian: злосло́вя (bg) impf (zloslóvja) Chinese: Mandarin: 戳脊梁骨 (zh) (chuō jǐlianggǔ), 戳脊梁 (zh) (chuō jǐliang), 誹謗 / 诽谤 (zh) (fěibàng) Cornish: bacbîtya Czech: pomlouvat (cs) impf, pomluvit (cs) pf French: calomnier (fr), salir (fr), diffamer (fr) German: verleumden (de), afterreden (de), anschwärzen (de) Icelandic: baknaga, rægja, rógbera Italian: dire peste e corna (it), parlare male (it), denigrare (it), sparlare (it), calunniare (it), parlare alle spalle Japanese: 後指を指す (ushiroyubi wo sasu) Maori: muhari, kohimu, kōhimuhimu, ngautuarā, kōhumuhumu Polish: obmawiać (pl) impf, obgadywać (pl) impf Portuguese: fazer a caveira (pt) Russian: злосло́вить (ru) impf (zloslóvitʹ), ха́ять (ru) impf (xájatʹ), хули́ть (ru) impf (xulítʹ), поро́чить (ru) impf (poróčitʹ), полива́ть гря́зью impf (polivátʹ grjázʹju, literally “pour dirt on”) Spanish: calumniar (es) Turkish: iftira etmek (tr) Urdu: غِیبَت کَرْنا (ġībat karnā) Woiwurrung: perangoolin

Noun

backbite (plural backbites)

1. One who engages in backbiting; a backbiter.

Anagrams

• bite back