renown means fame; celebrity; wide recognition. It carries an Arena rating of 1549, earned across 12 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, renown ranks #2,230 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,355 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,092 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #3,848 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
renown is pronounced /ɹɪˈnaʊn/.
Why “renown” is a great word
The state of being widely acclaimed and highly honored, earned through distinguished achievement or character. From Middle English renoun, from Anglo-French, from Old French renom (modern French renom), from renomer ("to make famous"), from re- (expressing intensive force) + nomer ("to name"), from Latin nōmināre, from nōmen ("name"). Unlike notoriety, which brands one with infamy, or the hollow glare of celebrity, renown is a laurel bestowed, a reputation burnished by genuine merit. It is the enduring echo of a hero’s name in a village square, the respectful hush that follows the mention of a great artist, the way light lingers on the statue of a benefactor long after sunset—less a shout than a resonance, deep and enduring, like the warmth left in stone long after the sun has set.
Etymology
From Old French renoun (compare with Modern French renom), equivalent to re- + noun.
noun
- Fame; celebrity; wide recognition.
- Reports of nobleness or achievements; praise.e.g.“[…] She / Is daughter to this famous Duke of Milan, / Of whom so often I have heard renown, / But never saw before;” — 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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