Where does “maliciously” come from?
Maliciously is an English adverb derived from Middle English -ly, Latin malitiosus formed with the suffix -osus from Latin malus meaning "bad," which traces to Proto-Indo-European ḱóm.
maliciously (English): in a malicious manner, or for malicious reasons
Definitions
- in a malicious manner, or for malicious reasons
Ancestry of “maliciously”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | malicious | Of, pertaining to, or as a result of malice or... |
| 2 | Old French | malicios | — |
| 3 | French | malicieux | mischievous; malicious |
| 4 | Latin | malitiosus | malicious, wicked; crafty; spiteful |
| 5 | Latin | malitia | a bad quality; badness, wicked; spite, malice; an... |
| 6 | Latin | -itia | -ness, -ity |
| 7 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 8 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |