Where does “malveillant” come from?
malveillant (French) comes 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.
malveillant (French): malicious, malevolent
Definitions
- malicious, malevolent
Ancestry of “malveillant”, step by step
malveillant traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via French mal
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | mal | trouble, difficulty; pain; evil |
| 2 | Old French | mal | evilly; badly; poorly; evil |
| 3 | Latin | malleus | hammer, mallet; a disease of animals; the... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂-no- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | melh₂- | to grind, to crush |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |
via Latin malevolēns
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | malevolēns | spiteful, malevolent |
| 2 | Latin | volēns | wishing, desiring |
| 3 | Latin | volō | to wish, to please |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | gʷelāō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelh₁-éh₂-ye-ti | to throw, raise the arm |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |
via French veuillant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | veuillant | Obsolete form of voulant |