malfaire

Forms

malfaire^[1] Old French also maufaire;^[2][3] Anglo-Norman malfeire, malefaire, maufere.^[4]

Etymology

It is formed from French mal + faire, the first part being the adverb meaning “badly”.^[5][6][7][8] Wiktionary also allows that it may continue Latin malefaciō (“to do evil”).^[1] Littré compares Old Occitan malfar,^[3] and Wiktionary compares Italian malfare.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the Roman d'Eneas (about 1160), meaning “to do harm”.^[5][7] In Anglo-Norman texts from 1160–1174 on it meant “to harm, injure” and “to do wrong”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In Old French maufaire meant both “to harm someone” and “to do wrong”;^[4][3] Villehardouin speaks of la convoitise del monde qui tant a maufait “the greed of the world, which has done so much harm”.^[4][3] The infinitive was also used as a noun for “wrongdoing”.^[4] The Académie still recorded the verb in 1835 and 1878 in the sense “to do evil deeds”,^[5] but it is now old-fashioned, and Wiktionary says it was displaced by méfaire.^[5][1]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – First recorded in the Roman d'Eneas for “to do harm”.^[5]
• 1160–1174 – Earliest Anglo-Norman record.^[4]
• 13th century – Villehardouin uses the past participle maufait.^[3]
• 1835 – The Académie records it for “to commit wicked acts”.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (dated, intransitive) To do evil, to commit wicked acts: Ce garçon ne songeait qu'à malfaire.^[5][7][3]

Word family

• malfaisant

Related words

• méfaire
• Latin malefaciō

Usage notes

The verb is used only in the infinitive.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner
3. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d e f Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 351b