Etymology Explorer › Latin

Where does “malus” come from?

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

malus (Latin): unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...

Definitions

  1. unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...

Ancestry of “malus”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekμηλέα—
2Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
3Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

Words derived from “malus”

  • impairment
  • malignant
  • malice
  • malicious
  • malaria
  • impair
  • pessimistic
  • peaceable
  • malnutrition
  • pessimism
  • malpractice
  • malignancy
  • mal
  • maxillary
  • malevolent
  • peaceably
  • malaise
  • maltreatment
  • malformation
  • maliciously
  • maladaptive
  • malfunction
  • mallet
  • malign
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →