From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
famous
adj 1: widely known and esteemed; "a famous actor"; "a
celebrated musician"; "a famed scientist"; "an
illustrious judge"; "a notable historian"; "a renowned
painter" [syn: celebrated, famed, far-famed,
famous, illustrious, notable, noted, renowned]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Famous \Fa"mous\, a. [L. famosus, fr. fama fame: cf. F. fameux.
See Fame.]
Celebrated in fame or public report; renowned; mach talked
of; distinguished in story; -- used in either a good or a bad
sense, chiefly the former; often followed by for; as, famous
for erudition, for eloquence, for military skill; a famous
pirate.
[1913 Webster]
Famous for a scolding tongue. --Shak.
Syn: Noted; remarkable; signal; conspicuous; celebrated;
renowned; illustrious; eminent; transcendent; excellent.
Usage: Famous, Renowned, Illustrious. Famous is applied
to a person or thing widely spoken of as
extraordinary; renowned is applied to those who are
named again and again with honor; illustrious, to
those who have dazzled the world by the splendor of
their deeds or their virtues. See Distinguished.
[1913 Webster]