maledico

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ma.ɫɛˈdiː.koː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ma.leˈdiː.ko]^[1]

Forms

maledīcō (present infinitive maledīcere, perfect active maledīxī, supine maledictum); third conjugation, irregular short imperative^[1]

Etymology

It is from male “badly” and dīcō “to say”, and is often written ⟨male dīcō⟩.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citations are from Plautus, who also has the reversed order dīcunt male.^[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to speak ill of, abuse, insult, revile, with a dative or absolutely, as Cicero's outraging of someone, and transitively in Petronius.^[2][5]

In Christian Latin it came to mean to curse, and in Ecclesiastical Latin to curse, speak evil, revile, slander.^[6] It survives in French maudire, Italian maledire and Spanish maldecir “to curse”.^[1] English malediction came in the mid-15th century from its noun maledictiō, which in Late Latin meant “a curse”.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of abusing people.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of insulting someone.^[5][4]
• before 66 AD – Petronius uses it transitively.^[2][4]
• mid-15th century – English malediction is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To speak ill of, abuse, insult.^[2]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To curse.^[6]

Word family

• maledīcentia
• maledictiō
• maledictor
• maledictum
• praemaledico
• remaledīcō
• maledicē
• maledīcēns
• maledictitō
• maledictus
• maledicus

Related words

• maledicāx
• male
• dīcō
• benedīcō
• English malediction

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com