Etymologically
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malin

Etymology and origin of the French word malin

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1120, Psalter
Borrowed from
Latin malignus
Ultimate origin
Latin (malus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ma.lɛ̃/[1]

Forms

malin (feminine maligne or maline, masculine plural malins, feminine plural malignes or malines)[1] Old French maligne for both genders; masculine malin from about 1460, feminine maline from the 16th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin malignus (“wicked, malicious”), from malus (“bad”) (see mal).[2][3][4][5][6] The Old French form was the same for both genders; about 1460 a masculine was made on the model of adjectives in ⟨-in⟩, ⟨-ine⟩, and then a feminine ⟨maline⟩, which survives in popular speech and dialects, while ⟨maligne⟩ became the correct feminine in the 17th century.[2][3][5] Wiktionary compares the same reshaping in bénin.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford and Cambridge Psalters (first half of the 12th century) use it as a noun for one who delights in doing evil, translating Latin malignus; the Livre des Rois (about 1170) has li malignes esperiz, the evil spirit.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In religious language l'esprit malin is a demon, and le Malin the Devil (1530).[2][3] In the 16th century it was applied to a harmful disease (1539), the origin of tumeur maligne, as opposed to bénin.[2][3] Rey notes that malin comme un singe (recorded by the Académie in 1718) first referred to the monkey as a diabolical animal, and the image changed with the meaning of the word.[3][7]

The modern sense “cunning, clever” appears in Boileau (1669–1674).[2][7][3] It gave familiar phrases: gros malin (1808), ce n'est pas malin “it's not difficult” (1831), faire le malin “to show off” (1854) and the ironic c'est malin ! “that's clever!” (1802 according to the BHVF, 1867 in the TLFi).[2][3][8] In Quebec French it keeps the old strong sense, “aggressive” of an animal and “irritable” of a person.[3][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1120 – Maligne, in a psalter.[3]
  • c. 1170 – Li malignes esperiz, in the Livre des Rois.[2]
  • c. 1460 – The masculine form malin, in Chastellain.[2]
  • 1530 – Le Malin, the Devil.[2]
  • 1539 – Of a harmful ulcer.[2]
  • 1669–1674 – “Cunning”, in Boileau.[7][2]
  • 1718 – Malin comme un singe.[7]
  • 1831 – Ce n'est pas malin.[2]
  • 1854 – Faire le malin.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Clever, cunning, shrewd: malin comme un singe.[9][1]
  2. (medicine) Malignant: tumeur maligne.[9][1]
  3. (dated) Wicked, malicious: un malin plaisir, a mischievous pleasure, l'esprit malin, the Devil.[9][10]
  4. (familiar) Ce n'est pas malin: it's not difficult, c'est malin !, that's clever! (ironic).[2][3]
  5. (Quebec) Of an animal, vicious; of a person, irritable.[3][1]

Noun

  1. A clever, shrewd person: faire le malin, to show off, gros malin, smart alec.[9][3]
  2. Le Malin: the Devil.[9][1]

Word family

  • malignement
  • malignité
  • mal
  • bénin
  • Latin malignus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 106b
  7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Malin.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/malin. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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