malevolentia

Forms

malevolentia f (genitive malevolentiae); first declension^[1] Also spelled malivolentia.^[2][3] According to the TLL, editions favour mali- in Cicero's speeches and male- in his letters, and a glossary prescribes mali-.^[4]

Etymology

It is from Latin malevolēns (“ill-disposed, spiteful”) + -ia.^[2][4][1] The adjective is a compound of male (“badly”) and volēns (“wishing”), the present participle of volō¹ (“to want, wish”),^[2][1] and is paired with benevolēns (“well-disposed”).^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Cicero;^[6] an earlier instance in Plautus stands in a passage the TLL regards as spurious.^[4] Cicero gives the Stoic definition: malevolentia is pleasure taken in another's misfortune without any gain to oneself.^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

It means ill will, spite or malevolence.^[2][7] Cicero pairs it with obtrectatio, disparagement, and speaks of a mind not tinged with ill will towards others;^[7][3] Sallust joins it with invidia, envy.^[7][3] Seneca speaks of offering ill will something to bite on.^[4] Christian writers keep the word: Augustine speaks of the devil's malevolence and of a malevolence and urge to harm implanted in evil spirits.^[4]

Medieval writers in Britain use it of ill will in general, and in records of the king's displeasure: a pipe roll of 1168 records a payment for peace from the king's ill will, and a record of 1200 has a pardon of all ill will towards some men.^[8] English took it over in the mid-15th century as malevolence.^[9]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero defines it as pleasure in another's misfortune.^[7][4][6]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust pairs it with envy.^[7][3][6]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of the devil.^[4][6]
• 1168 – A pipe roll mentions a payment for peace from the king's ill will.^[8]
• mid-15th century – English borrows it as malevolence.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Ill will, spite, malevolence; dislike, envy.^[2][7][3]
2. (Stoic philosophy) Pleasure in another's misfortune, schadenfreude.^[7][3]

Related words

• malevolēns
• malevolus
• benevolentia
• malitia
• malignitās

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes it from two near-synonyms: malitia is the baseness shown in a love of lying and deceiving, malignitas the selfish ill will that grudges others any good, and malevolentia the ill will that wishes harm to another out of personal aversion and takes pleasure in his misfortunes.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper