- scandal (n.)
- 1580s, "discredit caused by irreligious conduct," from Middle French scandale, from Late Latin scandalum "cause for offense, stumbling block, temptation," from Greek skandalon "a trap or snare laid for an enemy," in New Testament, metaphorically as "a stumbling block, offense;" originally "trap with a springing device," from PIE *skand- "jump" (cf. Greek skandalizein "to make to stumble, give offense to" someone; see scan; cf. also slander). Attested from early 13c., but the modern word is a reborrowing. Meaning "malicious gossip" is from 1590s; sense of "person whose conduct is a disgrace" is from 1630s. Scandal sheet "sensational newspaper" is from 1939.