Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “malefic” come from?

malefic (English) comes from French maléfique, from Latin maleficus, from Latin male, from Latin malus, from Ancient Greek μηλέα, from Ancient Greek μῆλον, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- — small animal”; small animal.

malefic (English): Having an evil or harmful influence; baleful; a...

Definitions

  1. Having an evil or harmful influence; baleful; a...

Ancestry of “malefic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchmaléfiquemaleficent, malevolent
2Latinmaleficuswicked, vicious; criminal
3Latinmalebadly; wrongly; cruelly, wickedly
4Latinmalusunpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...
5Ancient Greekμηλέα—
6Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
7Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

Words derived from “malefic”

  • malefically
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →