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malo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word malo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Naevius
Ultimate origin
Latin (magis,volō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈmaː.ɫoː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmaː.lo][1]

Forms

mālō (present infinitive mālle, perfect active māluī); irregular conjugation, suppletive, no passive, no imperative, no gerund[1] Plautus and Terence have māvolō, Naevius māvolunt and Plautus māvolet.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from magis “more” and volō “to wish”, as Cicero already explained; the older form is ⟨māvolō⟩.[2][1][4] De Vaan traces ⟨volō⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to strive after”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Naevius and Plautus.[2] Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to wish rather, prefer, as in Plautus; with an accusative to like better, prefer to have, as in Caelius' bonōs mālle in Cicero's letters; and with an accusative and infinitive to prefer the view that, as in Lucretius.[2][4] Isidore notes that mālō is written with one ⟨l⟩ and mālle with two, because they are magis volō and magis velle.[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to prefer, choose rather, desire.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses māvolunt.[2][6]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses māvolō.[2][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it with an infinitive.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To prefer, wish rather.[2]
  2. To like better.[2]
  3. To prefer the view that.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  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. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Malo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/malo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·