mal-
See also: Appendix:Variations of "mal"
English edit
Etymology edit
From Old French mal- from the Latin adverb male, from malus.
Prefix edit
mal-
- bad, badly
- Synonym: mis-
- unintentional, mistaken, accidental
- Synonym: mis-
- not
Derived terms edit
Anagrams edit
Catalan edit
Etymology edit
From mal.
Prefix edit
mal-
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “mal-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
Esperanto edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from French mal- in its secondary sense of denoting the opposite.
Pronunciation edit
Prefix edit
mal-
- denotes opposites
Usage notes edit
- Speakers of languages where words similar to mal- have meanings related to badness or evil should remember that mal- indicates solely the antonym, with no pejorative value. Affixes with pejorative connotations include mis- (“wrongly, incorrectly, poorly”), fi- (“shameful”), and -aĉ- (“inferior in quality, contemptible”).
- Despite the availability of mal-, many words denoting opposites are available; for example malgranda and eta (“small”), or malgaja and trista (“sad”). Some of these are poetic or rare, but others have passed into more or less common use. Mal- may and often is still used to produce the opposite, though in certain cases it might have a slightly different connotation; e.g. malpaco (“turmoil, strife”) vs. milito (“war”).
- When it is necessary to distinguish between the contrary of a sense and the absence of it, the latter may be indicated with ne- (“not”) or sen- (“without”). For example, malamiko (“enemy”) contrasts with neamiko "non-friend" (e.g. a stranger or acquaintance).
Derived terms edit
See also edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Middle French mal-, from Old French mal-, from mal (“bad; badly”).
Pronunciation edit
Prefix edit
mal-
- badly; wrongly
- mal- + faisant → malfaisant (“harmful”)
- denotes the opposite of the unprefixed form
Derived terms edit
Italian edit
Etymology edit
Prefix edit
mal-
Derived terms edit
Maltese edit
Pronunciation edit
Preposition edit
mal-
Old French edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Prefix edit
mal-
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin male (“badly”).
Prefix edit
mal-
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Prefix edit
mal-