“Traduce” comes from the Latin “traducere,” meaning both “lead in front of others” and “expose to ridicule.” In the mid-16th century, “traduce” came into English in the sense of “transport, transmit,” but it soon went back to the more negative Latin interpretation. It means “to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood or misrepresentation”; a bully, for example, traduces someone when they lie and ridicule that person based on the falsehoods. “Traduce” is also synonymous with “violate” or “betray.” A traducer (the noun form) traduces their colleague when they take credit for work they didn’t do. Another noun, “traducement,” refers to the act of betrayal itself.