Where does “malware” come from?
malware (English) comes from English mal, from French mal, from Old French mal, from Latin malleus, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-no-, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European mel-, from Proto-Indo-European mey- — to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange.
malware (English): Software which has been designed to operate in a...
Definitions
- Software which has been designed to operate in a...
Ancestry of “malware”, step by step
malware traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English mal
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mal | illness, affliction; A longboard; Malleolus |
| 2 | French | mal | trouble, difficulty; pain; evil |
| 3 | Old French | mal | evilly; badly; poorly; evil |
| 4 | Latin | malleus | hammer, mallet; a disease of animals; the... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂-no- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂- | to grind, to crush |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |
via English Ware
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Ware | A placename |
| 2 | Middle English | ware | Alternative form of veir; Alternative form of... |
| 3 | Old English | wær | cautious, on guard, watching out for something;... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | wār | true, reliable |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | wēraz | true; reliable; friendly; kind |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wiHrós | man; husband; warrior, hero |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | weyh₁- | to chase, pursue; to suppress, persecute |