Where does “maleficus” come from?

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

maleficus (Latin): wicked, vicious; criminal

Definitions

  1. wicked, vicious; criminal

Ancestry of “maleficus”, step by step

maleficus traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin male

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmalebadly; wrongly; cruelly, wickedly
2Latinmalusunpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...
3Ancient Greekμηλέαapple tree
4Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
5Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

via Latin ficus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinficusfig tree; fig; hemorrhoids
2Phoenician??Ripe fig

Words derived from “maleficus”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →
maleficus — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer