malice (English)

Where does "malice" come from?

The English word 'malice' arrived via Middle English from the Old French 'malice'[1][2]. This term traces back to the Latin 'malitia', which carried the senses of 'badness' or 'ill-will'[1][3]. The Latin noun was formed from the adjective 'malus', meaning 'bad' or 'evil'[3][4]. While 'malus' may descend from a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root '*mel-' denoting something 'false' or 'bad', the connection remains a subject of linguistic debate[4][5].

Open questions

The derivation from Proto-Indo-European *mel- is considered suspect due to the isolation of the cognate forms. [4] [5]
The potential link between malus and the Proto-Indo-European root *mal- meaning small remains an alternative theory without definitive proof. [4]

Full etymology tree

malice (English), 'Intention to harm or deprive in an illegal or immoral way. Desire to take pleasure in another's misfortune.'
- inherited malice (Middle English)
  - borrowed malice (Old French), 'malice, evilness, evil intentions'
    - borrowed malitia (Latin), 'a bad quality; badness, wickedness'
      - derived malus (Latin), 'unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad'
        inherited *malos (Proto-Italic)
      - suffix -itia (Latin), '-ness, -ity; Used to form nouns describing the condition of being something.'

Ancestors

malice (Old French)
malitia (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

actual malice (English)
constructive malice (English)
malice aforethought (English)
maliceful (English)
malice in fact (English)
malice in law (English)
maliceless (English)
malice murder (English)
malice prepense (English)
malicious (English)
mute of malice (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris