mal French · revision 16313

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=881, Séquence de sainte Eulalie|origins=la malus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mal/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mal''' ''m'' (plural maux)^(Wiktionary)

+ The old adjective had a feminine ''male'', still seen in ''male mort'' and ''à la male heure''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It continues [[inh|la|malus|t=bad, harmful, wicked]] and the corresponding adverb [[m|la|male|t=badly]], which both gave “mal”.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|6/1, 123b) The origin of the noun is disputed: the Grand Robert derives it from [[m|la|malum|t=evil]], Rey sees it rather as the French adjective used as a noun, since “malum” merged in sound with the adverb and survives nowhere else in Romance, Bloch and Wartburg think it is the adverb, as the noun is everywhere else ([[it|male]], [[es|mal]], [[pt|mal]]).^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Rey describes “malus” as an old religious term and compares [[lt|mẽlas|t=lie]] and Old Irish “mellaim” “I deceive”, Wiktionary mentions, as possible, [[ine-pro|*(s)mel-|t=bad, wrong]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) The adjective is cognate with [[it|malo]] and [[es|malo]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found as an adjective in the ''Séquence de sainte Eulalie'' (881): ''mals conselliers'' “evil counsellors”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective declined before [[mauvais]] and [[méchant]], and since the 17th century survives only in phrases such as ''bon gré mal gré'' (1330, ''bon gré mau gré''), ''bon an mal an'', the predicate ''il est mal de'' (1649), and in compounds such as [[malheur]] and [[malchance]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ The adverb appears in 1080 meaning “unfavourably”, with ''de mal en pis'' at the end of the 12th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Placed before an adjective or verb it once amounted to a full negation (1155), then to a weakened one (1273), and since the 13th century it has meant “imperfectly”, “in a morally wrong way” dates from the 14th century (''mal faire'', 1361).^(DHLF 1992) ''Mal en point'' dates from 1536, and ''pas mal'' was first quantitative (1661), then qualitative, “rather good” (1761); ''être mal'' “to be in a fix” appeared in the 1990s.^(DHLF 1992) As a prefix ''mal-'' forms [[maladroit]] and [[malaise]], and in older words became ''mau-'', as in [[maudire]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 881 – Adjective ''mals'' in the ''Séquence de sainte Eulalie''.^(TLFi)

+ * 980 – The noun ''mal''.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1080 – The adverb, in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * Late 12th century – ''De mal en pis''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1330 – ''Bon gré mau gré''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1536 – ''Mal en point''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1649 – ''Il est mal de'', in Balzac.^(TLFi)

+ * 1661 – ''Pas mal'' “quite a lot”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|badly|alt=Badly]], poorly: ''Ça commence mal'', ''mal payé''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Unwell: ''se sentir mal'', ''se trouver mal'', to faint.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Wrongly, in a morally bad way: ''mal agir''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Pas mal'': quite a lot; rather good, not bad.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # In set phrases: bad: ''bon gré mal gré'', ''bon an mal an''.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ # Morally wrong: ''C'est mal de mentir.''^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|evil|alt=Evil]]: ''le bien et le mal''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # Harm, damage: ''faire du mal à quelqu'un'', ''il n'y a pas de mal''.^(Wiktionary)^(BHVF)

+ # Pain, ache: ''avoir mal à la tête'', ''le mal de mer''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|trouble|alt=Trouble]], difficulty: ''avoir du mal à faire quelque chose''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[malheur]]

+ * [[malchance]]

+ * [[maladroit]]

+ * [[malaise]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[malice]]

+ * [[mauvais]]

+ * [[la|malus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}