Latin

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Etymology

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From malus (bad) +‎ fātum (fate) +‎ -ius; literally, “ill-fated”. Compare the name Bonifātius.

Adjective

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malifātius (feminine malifātia, neuter malifātium); first/second-declension adjective (Late Latin)

  1. unfortunate
    • 4th c. CE, Epigraph from the Coemeterium Maius[1] :
      VRBICE ORFANE / ET MALIFATIE / Q. VIX. ANN. XXII. / IN PACE
      For the orphaned and unfortunate Urbica, who died at the age of twenty-two. [May she rest] in peace.[2]

Usage notes

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Attested in French from ca. 1050 (Vie de saint Alexis)[3] and Occitan from the 12th century (works of Bernart de Ventadorn).[4]

Declension

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First/second-declension adjective.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative malifātius malifātia malifātium malifātiī malifātiae malifātia
Genitive malifātiī malifātiae malifātiī malifātiōrum malifātiārum malifātiōrum
Dative malifātiō malifātiō malifātiīs
Accusative malifātium malifātiam malifātium malifātiōs malifātiās malifātia
Ablative malifātiō malifātiā malifātiō malifātiīs
Vocative malifātie malifātia malifātium malifātiī malifātiae malifātia

Descendants

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(Shifted to the sense of 'bad' and 'evil'.)

References

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  1. ^ https://www.edb.uniba.it/epigraph/37493
  2. ^ Haerle Philipp. 1955. Captivus, cattivo, chetif: Zur Einwirkung des Christentums auf die Terminologie der Moralbegriffe. Bern: Francke. Page 90.
  3. ^ mauvais”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
  4. ^ Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “malifatius”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 6/1: Mabile–Mephitis, page 95