Where does “mal-” come from?

mal- (Catalan) comes from Catalan mal, from Old Catalan mal, from Latin malus, from Ancient Greek μηλέα, from Ancient Greek μῆλον, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- — small animal”; small animal.

mal- (Catalan): poorly, badly

Definitions

  1. poorly, badly

Ancestry of “mal-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Catalanmalevil, bad; illness; badly, poorly
2Old Catalanmal—
3Latinmalusunpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...
4Ancient Greekμηλέαapple tree
5Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
6Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

Words derived from “mal-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →Every word from Ancient Greek μῆλον →Every word from Ancient Greek μηλέα →