Where does “maltreatment” come from?
Maltreatment comes from English treat, combined with the prefix mal- from Latin malus meaning bad, ultimately from Latin trahere meaning to draw or drag.
maltreatment (English): Cruel or harmful treatment or abuse; mistreatment
Definitions
- Cruel or harmful treatment or abuse; mistreatment
Ancestry of “maltreatment”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | treatment | The process or manner of treating someone or... |
| 2 | English | treat | To negotiate, discuss terms, bargain; To... |
| 3 | Middle English | treten | — |
| 4 | Old French | tretier | — |
| 5 | Latin | tractāre | — |
| 6 | Latin | tractō | — |
| 7 | Latin | -tō | — |
| 8 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |