Etymologically
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maledico

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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

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