Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “mal-” come from?

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

Ancestry of “mal-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchmal-bad; badly
2Latinmalebadly; wrongly; cruelly, wickedly
3Latinmalusunpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad;...
4Ancient Greekμηλέα—
5Ancient Greekμῆλονapple; any fruit from a tree; a woman's breast
6Proto-Indo-European(s)meh₁l-small animal”; small animal

Words derived from “mal-”

  • malaise
  • malcontent
  • maladroit
  • malingerer
  • malinger
  • maladroitness
  • maladroitly
  • malaised
  • malingeror
  • malcontently
  • malpoli
  • malnutrition
  • malcontent
  • maladresse
  • malcommode
  • malfaisant
  • malfamé
  • malfaçon
  • malfaçonné
  • malhabile
  • malpropreté
  • malsonnant
  • malpropre
  • malvoyant
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →