malaria

Etymology

First recorded in 1740,^[1][2] borrowed from Italian malaria, contracted from mala aria “bad air”,^[2][3] from mala, feminine of malo “bad” (from Latin malus), + aria “air”.^[4][5]

The word first meant the unwholesome air itself, and by 1866 the disease.^[5] The disease, now known to be carried by mosquitoes, was once thought to be caused by foul air in marshy districts.^[5] The word replaced native ague.^[5]

References

1. [1] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
2. [1] [2] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. [1] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. [1] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com