Etymologically
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malitiosus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ma.lɪ.tiˈoː.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ma.lit.t͡siˈɔː.s̬us][1]

Forms

malitiōsus (feminine malitiōsa, neuter malitiōsum, comparative malitiōsior); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin malitia (“wickedness, malice”) + -ōsus.[2][1][3] De Vaan dates malitia from Plautus among the derivatives of malus1 (“bad”), which he reconstructs as Proto-Italic *malo- and, following Ernout and Meillet, perhaps Proto-Indo-European *mol-o- (“bad”); he calls this uncertain, since the comparanda are isolated words in different branches.[4] Isidore of Seville explained the adjective as worse than merely bad, because it means frequently bad.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Afranius,[5] whose comedy has istaec malitiosa non tam calleo, “I am not so practised in these sly tricks”.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

It means wicked, malicious, crafty, both of people and of actions.[2][6] The Rhetorica ad Herennium speaks of Carthage dolis malitiosa, full of tricks, and Cicero has a malitiosa iuris interpretatio, a crafty interpretation of the law, and lists the word among terms for cunning, deceitful men.[2][3] The TLL also records it in Tertullian, in the Vulgate, and in Firmicus Maternus of the baleful power of malevolent stars.[3] The name Silva Malitiosa appears in Livy: the OLD places the wood in Samnium, while Georges and Conte place it in Sabine territory.[2][7][8] Medieval British writers use it of malicious people and thoughts, and also, in botany and medicine, for harmful or poisonous, and in astrology of a malign planet.[9] Through Old French malicios it gave English malicious in the mid-13th century, and it is the source of Italian malizioso.[10][8]

Timeline

  • 2nd half of the 2nd century BC – Afranius uses it in a comedy.[3][5]
  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium calls Carthage dolis malitiosa.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a crafty interpretation of the law.[2][6][5]
  • mid-13th century – English malicious is recorded, from Old French.[10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Wicked, malicious, crafty, knavish; of things, deceitful, done with malice.[2][6][7]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Harmful, poisonous; in astrology, malign.[9]
  3. Silva Malitiosa, the name of a wood in Italy.[2][7]

Word family

  • malitiositas

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com