Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1728, 1818, 1945
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FAMA CLAMOSA, n.phr. Sc. Church Law: a prevalent report of scandalous or immoral conduct by a church member. Sometimes in the form fama only, without reference to the church, = scandal (Rs., Abd. 1950).Sc. 1728 R. Wodrow Corresp. (1843) III. 360:
Fama clamosa was not stories, and clash, and tittle-tattle, as it had been called, but quite another thing; . . . fama clamosa was not that which the mob believed, not street talk, but defined by lawyers what grave and discreet men believed, or were offended at, or raised a suspicion necessary to vindicate another's reputation from.Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian xlvii.:
Little matters of scandal and fama clamosa, which David called a loosening of the reins of discipline.Sc. 1945 J. T. Cox Practice Ch. Scot. 287:
A fama clamosa so great that the Presbytery for its own vindication finds it necessary to begin the process without an accuser.
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"Fama Clamosa n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/fama_clamosa>
