Etymology Explorer › Latin

Where does “malevolus” come from?

malevolus (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.

malevolus (Latin): disaffected, envious, spiteful, malevolent

Definitions

  1. disaffected, envious, spiteful, malevolent

Ancestry of “malevolus”, step by step

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

Words derived from “malevolus”

  • malévolo
  • malévolo
  • malèvulu
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →