Etymology and origin of the Latin word maligno
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 390 Ammianus Marcellinus More words from the 4th century
- Ultimate origin
- Latin malignus
Etymology tree
From the same root
Forms
malignō (present infinitive malignāre, perfect active malignāvī, supine malignātum); first conjugation[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin malignus (“spiteful, malicious”).[2][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
It first appears in Ammianus Marcellinus, of poisons maliciously produced (venena malignantes),[4][2] and in the Vulgate Psalms, of plotting against God's people.[4][3]
Semantic evolution
Used transitively, it meant to contrive something with evil intent;[3][2] the deponent malignor was more common in the Vulgate, meaning to act maliciously, and its participle malignantēs named the wicked.[2][5] Ecclesiastical Latin uses both forms for acting badly or wickedly.[6] In medieval Hungarian charters the verb is a near-legal term for doing harm and for acting in bad faith.[7]
Timeline
- c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it of poisons.[4][2][8]
- 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it and the deponent malignor in the Psalms.[4][2][8]
- 1212 – A Hungarian charter speaks of those who want to do harm.[7]
Meanings
Verb
- To do or contrive something with malice.[4][2][3]
- (Ecclesiastical Latin) To act wickedly; to malign.[6][1]
- (Medieval Latin, law) To do harm; to act in bad faith.[7]
Usage notes
It has a deponent by-form, malignor, used in the same sense.[4][5]
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry
“Maligno.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/maligno. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.
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