Where does “mal-” come from?
mal- (English) comes from Old French mal-, from Latin male, from Latin malus, from Ancient Greek μηλέα, from Ancient Greek μῆλον, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- — small animal”; small animal.
mal- (English): bad, badly as in maladjusted, malcontent -...
Definitions
- bad, badly as in maladjusted, malcontent -...
Ancestry of “mal-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | mal- | bad; badly |
| 2 | Latin | male | badly; wrongly; cruelly, wickedly |
| 3 | Latin | malus | unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | μηλέα | apple tree |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μῆλον | apple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)meh₁l- | small animal”; small animal |