“backbiteth” is a form of
backbite
verb, noun
Forms backbites backbiting backbit backbitten back-bite
- verb To make spiteful slanderous or defamatory statements about someone.
- verb (informal) To attack from behind or when out of earshot with spiteful or defamatory remarks.
- verb To speak badly of an absent individual.
- noun One who engages in backbiting; a backbiter.
Synonyms
denigrate libel slander assassinate asperse badmouth befoul belibel besmirch besmear bewray blacken blame blaze blemish blot blur calumniate calumny chat shit bitch
Etymology
From Middle English bakbiten, bacbiten, equivalent to back- + bite. Cognate with Icelandic bakbíta (“to backbite, vilify”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To wound by clandestine detraction; to censure meanly or spitefully (as absent person); to slander or speak evil of (one absent). Spenser.
- verb To censure or revile the absent.
Etymology [2nd back, n., + bite]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “backbite”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details