Where does “malpractice” come from?
Malpractice comes from Old French mal- (bad) combined with practice, ultimately deriving from Latin malus (bad) and Proto-Indo-European melH₂- (to grind or crush), originally referring to something harmful or damaging.
malpractice (English): The improper treatment of a patient by a...
Definitions
- The improper treatment of a patient by a...
Ancestry of “malpractice”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | practice | Repetition of an activity to improve a skill; An... |
| 2 | English | practise | To repeat as a way of improving one's skill in... |
| 3 | Middle English | practizen | — |
| 4 | Middle French | pratiser | — |
| 5 | French | pratiquer | to do; to practise |
| 6 | French | pratique | applied; concerning action or intervention of... |
| 7 | Middle French | practique | practice act of doing; of practising |
| 8 | Latin | prāctica | — |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | πρακτική | practice, experience |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | πρακτικός | Of, pertaining to, or appropriate for action; Fit... |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | πράσσω | I do, practice |
| 12 | Proto-Hellenic | prā́ťťō | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥h₂-k-yé-ti | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |