malady

English

Etymology

Middle English maladie, from Old French maladie (“sickness, illness, disease”), from malade (“ill, sick”), from Latin male habitus (“ill-kept, not in good condition”), 1st century AD. See also malice and habit.

Pronunciation

• enPR: măl'ə-dē, IPA: /ˈmælˌə.di/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

malady (plural maladies)

1. Any ailment or disease of the body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.
   • The maladies of the body may prove medicines to the mind. Buckminster.
2. A moral or mental defect or disorder.
   • Love's a malady without a cure. Dryden.

Synonyms

• ailment
• disease
• disorder
• distemper
• illness
• sickness

Translations

a disease, illness, or other health disorder

• Finnish: sairaus (fi), tauti (fi)
• French: maladie (fr) f
• German: Krankheit (de) f, Übel (de) n

• Italian: malattia (it) f
• Portuguese: mal (pt)
• Spanish: mal (es) m

References

• malady in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “malady” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).