Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “mal-” come from?

mal- (Old French) 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.

mal- (Old French): bad; badly

Definitions

  1. bad; badly

Ancestry of “mal-”, 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 “mal-”

  • malnutrition
  • malpractice
  • malaise
  • maltreatment
  • malformation
  • maladaptive
  • malfunction
  • malabsorption
  • malformed
  • maladjustment
  • malodorous
  • maladministration
  • malcontent
  • malunion
  • malalignment
  • maladjusted
  • malposition
  • maltreat
  • malrotation
  • malnourishment
  • maldistribution
  • maladroit
  • malingerer
  • maladaptation
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)meh₁l- →