Where does “mal” come from?
mal (Dalmatian) comes from Latin mente, from Latin mēns, from Proto-Italic mentis, from Proto-Indo-European méntis, from Indo-European *men-.
mal (Dalmatian): evil, harm
Ancestry of “mal”, step by step
mal traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin mente
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | mente | ablative singular of mēns |
| 2 | Latin | mēns | mind |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | mentis | mind, thought |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | méntis | thought |
| 5 | Indo-European | *men- | — |
via Latin malus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | malus | unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;... |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | μηλέα | apple tree |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | μῆλον | apple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)meh₁l- | small animal”; small animal |