Where does “malefice” come from?
malefice (English) comes from Latin maleficium, 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.
malefice (English): An evil deed; artifice; enchantment
Definitions
- An evil deed; artifice; enchantment
Ancestry of “malefice”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | maleficium | crime, misdeed, offence, evil deed; injury, hurt,... |
| 2 | Latin | maleficus | wicked, vicious; criminal |
| 3 | Latin | male | badly; wrongly; cruelly, wickedly |
| 4 | Latin | malus | unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μηλέα | apple tree |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μῆλον | apple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)meh₁l- | small animal”; small animal |