Etymology Explorer › Italian

Where does “malo” come from?

malo (Italian) comes from Latin malus, from Ancient Greek μηλέα, from Ancient Greek μῆλον, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- — small animal”; small animal.

malo (Italian): bad, evil, wicked; unfit, incompetent, inadequate

Definitions

  1. bad, evil, wicked; unfit, incompetent, inadequate

Ancestry of “malo”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmalusunpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...
2Ancient Greekμηλέα—
3Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
4Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

Words derived from “malo”

  • malocchio
  • a malapena
  • malora
  • malamente
  • malalingua
  • mala
  • malaria
  • malaria
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →