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English

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Etymology

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From Old French mal- from the Latin adverb male, from malus.

Prefix

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mal-

  1. bad, badly
    Synonym: mis-
    1. evil
    2. unhealthy, harmful
    3. unpleasant
    4. incorrect
      Synonyms: para-, dis-, dys-, mis-
    5. incomplete, unfinished
    6. poorly, deficiently
      Synonyms: under-, hypo-, dys-
  2. unintentional, mistaken, accidental
    Synonym: mis-
  3. not
    Synonyms: a-, an-, dys-, in-, non-, un-

Derived terms

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology

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From mal.

Prefix

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mal-

  1. poorly, badly

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Esperanto

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French mal- in its secondary sense of denoting the opposite.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /mal/
  • Audio:(file)

Prefix

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mal-

  1. denotes opposites
    mal- + ‎alta (high) → ‎malalta (low)
    mal- + ‎ami (to love) → ‎malami (to hate)
    mal- + ‎dekstra (right) → ‎maldekstra (left)

Usage notes

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  • 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

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See also

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French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French mal-, from Old French mal-, from mal (bad; badly).

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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mal-

  1. badly; wrongly
    mal- + ‎faisant → ‎malfaisant (harmful)
  2. denotes the opposite of the unprefixed form

Derived terms

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Italian

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Etymology

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From Latin male (badly).

Prefix

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mal-

  1. bad; badly

Derived terms

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Maltese

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Pronunciation

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Preposition

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mal-

  1. definite form of ma’ used before vowels or qamri consonants.
    mal-marawith the woman
    mal-ideawith the idea

Old French

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Latin male (badly).

Prefix

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mal-

  1. bad; badly

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Portuguese

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin male (badly).

Prefix

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mal-

  1. bad; badly
  2. poorly
  3. barely, hardly

Spanish

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Etymology

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From Latin male (badly).

Prefix

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mal-

  1. bad; badly

Derived terms

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