Where does “malignant” come from?
Malignant comes from Middle French malignant, from Late Latin malignans, from Latin malignus, which combines Latin maligno with Latin genus, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European mel- and ǵenh₁-.
malignant (English): Harmful, malevolent, injurious; Tending to...
Definitions
- Harmful, malevolent, injurious; Tending to...
Ancestry of “malignant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | malignant | — |
| 2 | Late Latin | malignans | maligning |
| 3 | Latin | maligno | I malign; I act viciously; dative masculine... |
| 4 | Latin | malignus | wicked, malicious; spiteful; malignant, malign |
| 5 | Latin | male | badly; wrongly; cruelly, wickedly |
| 6 | Latin | malus | unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | μηλέα | apple tree |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | μῆλον | apple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)meh₁l- | small animal”; small animal |