LOGOI

The corpus record — Latin

malus

malus

unpleasant, bad

Generated live from the audited Latin corpus — every figure on this page is a database query, not prose from memory.

Where it lives

Densest 12 of 334 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant

1. malus — de Vaan

malus 'unpleasant, bad' [adj. o/a] (Duenos inscr., Andr.+) Derivatives: malignus 'mean, unkind' (PL+), malignitas 'meanness' (P1.+), malitia 'wicked character, vice' (P1.+), malefacere 'to do wrong, harm' (P1.+), malevolus 'ill-disposed' (P1.+), other cps. in male-. Pit. *malo-. It cognates: O. mallom, malom [acc.sg.], mallud, malud [abl.sg.] 'bad, evir < O. *maluo- or *malio-, or a borrowing from Latin. PIE *mol-o- … — [de Vaan, s.v. malus, p. 374]

2. mălus — Lewis & Short

mălus, a, um, adj.Sanscr. mala, dirt; Gr. me/las, black; cf. macula; Germ. mal in Mutter-mal, etc..—

I Comp.: pējor, pejus.—Sup.: pessimus, a, um, bad, in the widest sense of the word (opp. bonus), evil, wicked, injurious, destructive, mischievous, hurtful; of personal appearance, ill-looking, ugly, deformed; of weight, bad, light; of fate, evil, unlucky, etc.: malus et nequam homo, Plaut. Ps. 4, 7, 1: pessima puella, Cat. 36, 9; 55, 10: delituit mala, Plaut. Rud. 2, 5, 9: philosophi minime mali illi quidem, sed non satis acuti, Cic. Off. 3, 9, 23: malam opinionem habere de aliquo, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 24, § 59: consuetudo, Hor. S. 1, 3, 36: conscientia, Quint. 12, 1, 3: mens, id. ib.: mores, Sall. C. 18: fures, Hor. S. 1, 1, 77: Furiae, id. ib. 2, 3, 135: virus, Verg. G. 1, 129: cicuta, Hor. S. 2, 1, 56: libido, Liv. 1, 57: falx, Verg. E. 3, 11: gramina, id. A. 2, 471: carmen, i. e. an incantation, Leg. XII. Tab. ap. Plin. 28, 2, 4, § 17: abi in malam rem, go and be hanged! Ter. And. 2, 1, 17: pugna, unsuccessful, adverse, Cic. Div. 2, 25, 54; Sall. J. 56: avis, i. e. ill-boding, Hor. C. 1, 15, 5; cf. id. ib. 3, 6, 46: ales, id. Epod. 10, 1: aetas, burdensome, i. e. senectus, Plaut. Aul. 1, 1, 4: haud mala est mulier, not badlooking, id. Bacch. 5, 2, 42: facies, Quint. 6, 3, 32; Ter. Eun. 2, 2, 43: crus, i. e. deformed, Hor. S. 1, 2, 102: pondus, i. e. light, deficient, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 156.—Of the sick: in malis aeger est, in great danger, Cels. 3, 15 fin.: tempus a quo omnis aeger pejor fiat, id. 3, 5 med.: eo tempore fere pessimi sunt qui aegrotant, id. ib.—In neutr. sing., as adv.: ne gallina malum responset dura palato, Hor. S. 2, 4, 18.—Comp.: pejor, worse: via, Hor. S. 1, 5, 96.—Hence,
1 mă-lum, i, n., any thing bad, an evil, mischief, misfortune, calamity, etc.
A In gen.: orarem, ut ei, quod posses mali facere, faceres, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 6, 25: quam sit bellum, cavere malum, Cic. de Or. 1, 58, 247: nihil enim mali accidisse Scipioni puto, id. Lael. 3, 10: hostes inopinato malo turbati, Caes. B. C. 2, 12: externum, i. e. bellum, Nep. Hamilc. 21: ne in cotidianam id malum vertat, i. e. febris, Cels. 3, 15: hoc malo domitos potius cultores agrorum fore, quam, etc., Liv. 2, 34, 11.—
B In partic.
(a) Punishment; hurt, harm, severity, injury: malo domandam tribuniciam potestatem, Liv. 2, 54, 10: malo exercitum coërcere, Sall. J. 100, 5: sine malo, Plaut. Rud. 4, 4, 81; so Ter. Eun. 4, 4, 45; Liv. 4, 49, 11: vi, malo, plagis adductus est, ut frumenti daret, ill-usage, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 23, § 56: amanti amoenitas malo est: nobis lucro est, is hurtful, injurious, Plaut. Men. 2, 3, 5: clementiam illi malo fuisse, was injurious, unfortunate, Cic. Att. 14, 22, 1: malo hercle magno suo convivat sine modo, to his own hurt, Enn. ap. Non. 474, 23 (Sat. v. 1 Vahl.): olet homo quidam malo suo, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 165: male merenti bona es: at malo cum tuo, to your own hurt, id. As. 1, 3, 3.—
(b) Wrong-doing: causae, quae numquam malo defuturae sunt, Sen. de Ira, 1, 16, 3: sperans famam exstingui veterum sic posse malorum, Verg. A. 6, 527; Anthol. Lat. 1, 178.—
(g) As a term of abuse, plague, mischief, torment: quid tu, malum, me sequere? Plaut. Cas. 1, 3: qui, malum, alii? Ter. Eun. 4, 7, 10: quae, malum, est ista tanta audacia? Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 20, § 54; so id. Off. 2, 15, 53; Curt. 8, 14, 41.—
(d) As an exclamation, alas! misery! Plaut. Capt. 3, 3, 16; id. Men. 2, 3, 37 Brix ad loc.—
2 măle, adv., badly, ill, wrongly, wickedly, unfortunately, erroneously, improperly, etc.: dubitas, quin lubenter tuo ero meus, quod possiet facere, faciat male? will do all the harm to him, etc., Plaut. Poen. 4, 2, 66: si iste Italiam relinquet, faciet omnino male, et, ut ego existimo, a)logistws, will act altogether unwisely, Attic. ap. Cic. Att. 9, 10: di isti Segulio male faciant, do harm to him, punish him, Cic. Fam. 11, 21, 1: o factum male de Alexione! id. Att. 15, 1, 1: male velle alicui, to wish ill, Plaut. As. 5, 1, 13: Karthagini male jamdiu cogitanti bellum multo ante denuntio, cogitare de aliquo, Cic. Sen. 6, 18: male loqui, id. Rosc. Am. 48: male loqui alicui, for maledicere, Ter. Phorm. 2, 3, 25: male accipere verbis aliquem, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 54, § 140: equitatu agmen adversariorum, male habere, to harass, annoy, Caes. B. C. 1, 63: hoc male habet virum, annoys, vexes him, Ter. And. 2, 6, 5: male se habere, to feel ill, dejected, low-spirited, id. Eun. 4, 2, 6: male est animo, it vexes me, id. Ad. 4, 5, 21: male est animo, I feel unwell, Plaut. Curc. 2, 3, 33: male fit animo, I am beginning to feel bad, am getting unwell, id. Rud. 2, 6, 26: L. Antonio male sit, si quidem, etc., evil betide him! (a formula of imprecation), Cic. Att. 15, 15, 1: quae res tibi vertat male, much harm may it do you! Ter. Ad. 2, 1, 37: male tibi esse malo quam molliter, I would rather you should be unfortunate than effeminate, Sen. Ep. 82, 1: proelium male pugnatum, unsuccessfully, Sall. J. 54, 7: ea quae male empta sunt, at a bad bargain, Cic. Att. 2, 4, 1: male vendere, at a sacrifice, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 98, § 227: male reprehendunt praemeditationem rerum futurarum, id. Tusc. 3, 16, 34: male tegere mutationem fortunae, Tac. H. 1, 66: male sustinere arma, unskilfully, Liv. 1, 25, 12: non dubito, quin me male oderit, i. e. very much, intensely, Caes. ap. Cic. Att. 14, 1, 2: male metuo, ne, etc., exceedingly, much, Ter. Hec. 3, 2, 2: rauci, miserably, Hor. S. 1, 4, 66.— When attached to an adjective, it freq. gives it the opposite meaning: male sanus = insanus, insane, deranged, Cic. Att. 9, 15, 5: male sana, with mind disturbed, Verg. A. 4, 8: gratus, i. e. ungrateful, Ov. H. 7, 27: male fidas provincias, unfaithful, Tac. H. 1, 17: statio male fida carinis, unsafe, Verg. A. 2, 23.—Comp.: oderam multo pejus hunc quam illum ipsum Clodium, Cic. Fam. 7, 2, 3; cf.: pejusque leto flagitium timet, Hor. C. 4, 9, 50; and: cane pejus vitabit chlamydem, id. Ep. 1, 17, 30.

3. mālus — Lewis & Short

mālus, i, f., Gr. mhle/a,

I an appletree: malus bifera, Varr. R. R. 1, 7: et steriles platani malos gessere valentes, Verg. G. 2, 70: malus granata, the pomegranate, Isid. 17, 7, 6: felices arbores putantur esse quercus...malus, etc., Macr. S. 3, 20, 2.

4. mālus — Lewis & Short

mālus, i, m.by some referred to root mac-; Gr. makros; Lat. magnus; but perh. the same word with 2. malus,

I an upright mast, pole, or beam.
I In gen.: malos exaequantes altitudinem jugi surrexit, Front. Strat. 3, 8, 3.—
II Esp.
A A mast of a ship: ut si qui gubernatorem in navigando agere nihil dicant, cum alii malos scandant, etc., Cic. Sen. 6, 17: malum erigi, vela fieri imperavit, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 34, § 88: attolli malos, Verg. A. 5, 829: malo suspendit ab alto, id. ib. 5, 489: saucius, injured, Hor. C. 1, 14, 5.—
B A standard or pole, to which the awnings spread over the theatre were attached, Lucr. 6, 110; Liv. 39, 7, 8.—
C The beam in the middle of a wine-press, Plin. 18, 31, 74, § 317.—
D The corner beams of a tower: turrium mali, Caes. B. G. 7, 22, 4.

In the wild

6 of 7,985 attestations shown.

Where it came from

  • de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Brill 2008) Treated in de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Brill 2008) s.v. malus (scan pp. 374-375; entry #988). Root candidates: *malo-, *maluo-, *malio-.
  • Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine Treated in Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine s.v. malus (scan p. 405; entry #6449).

Latin text and lemmatization derived from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit), CC BY-SA 4.0. Lewis & Short (public domain) via Perseus. This derived data is shared under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 license.