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)

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Noun

malady (plural maladies)

1. Any ailment or disease of the human 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

References

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