Defamation of Character

a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report: a slander against his good name or character of another.

If a man steals from me my purse, he steals trash. Tis something, tis nothing and has made a fool of millions. But if a man steals from me my good name, he steals that which makes him not rich and me poor indeed.

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls.
Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.

Othelo Act 3, Scene 3

Character: is an evaluation of the aggregate components of a particular individual's durable moral qualities. The concept of character can imply a variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, empathy, compassion, generosity, or of good behaviors or habits. Moral character primarily refers to the assemblage of qualities that distinguish one individual from another - although on a cultural level, the set of moral behaviors to which a social group adheres can be said to unite and define it culturally as distinct from others. Psychologist Lawrence Pervin defines moral character as "a disposition to express behavior in consistent patterns of functions across a range of situations"