ETYM French scandale, from Latin scandalum, Greek skandalon a snare laid for an enemy, a stumbling block, offense, scandal: cf. Old Eng. scandle, Old Fren. escandle. Related to Slander.
1. A disgraceful event; SYN. outrage.
2. Disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people; SYN. dirt, malicious gossip.