Where does “malevolent” come from?
Malevolent derives from Middle English malevolent, from Latin malevolens meaning "wishing evil," from Latin male "badly" and volens "willing," with male ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- meaning "to throw or reach."
malevolent (English): having or displaying ill will; wishing harm on...
Definitions
- having or displaying ill will; wishing harm on...
Ancestry of “malevolent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | malevolent | — |
| 2 | Old French | malivolent | — |
| 3 | Latin | malevolēns | spiteful, malevolent |
| 4 | Latin | male | badly; wrongly; cruelly, wickedly |
| 5 | Latin | malus | unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μηλέα | apple tree |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | μῆλον | apple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)meh₁l- | small animal”; small animal |