Where does “maltalent” come from?

maltalent (Middle French) comes from Old French mautalant, from Old French mal, from Latin malleus, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-no-, from Proto-Indo-European melh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European mel-, from Proto-Indo-European mey- — to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange.

maltalent (Middle French): evil intention

Definitions

  1. evil intention

Ancestry of “maltalent”, step by step

maltalent traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old French mautalant

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchmautalantevil intention
2Old Frenchmalevilly; badly; poorly; evil
3Latinmalleushammer, mallet; a disease of animals; the...
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmelh₂-no-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmelh₂-to grind, to crush
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmel-soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmey-to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange

via Old French talent

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchtalentdesire; wish
2Classical Latintalentum—

Words derived from “maltalent”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mey- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European mel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European melh₂- →