malin

See also: Malin, malîn, and malīn

French

Etymology

Borrowed from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin malignus (“wicked, malicious”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.lɛ̃/

• audio:

  (file)

Adjective

malin (feminine maligne, masculine plural malins, feminine plural malignes)

1. smart and quick-thinking, and often a trickster; cunning, crafty.

   Comme c’est malin !

   How smart!

2. Intelligent, bright.
3. (medicine) Malignant.

   Antonym: tumeur maligne

   Antonym: bénin

4. (Quebec) Said of an aggressive animal or a petulant person.
5. (chiefly dated or biblical) Malicious, sadistic; which likes to do or say hurtful things for fun.
6. (obsolete) Nocive; pernicious.

Usage notes

• Common usage is to form the feminine by adding an -e, following the regular rule. However, despite the fact that the form maline has been largely used in spoken language for centuries, it is still considered incorrect and the form maligne, yet scarcely used orally, is expected in careful writing.
• In its meaning of “malicious” the word is mostly restricted to expressions such as malin plaisir; it is a standard attribute of the Devil.

Synonyms

• (smart, clever): astucieux, fin, intelligent, rusé
• (malicious): méchant

Noun

malin m (plural malins, feminine maligne)

1. trickster, smart person

Derived terms

• gros malin : smart ass
• petit malin : trickster
• faire le malin

Further reading

• “malin”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• milan, Milan

---

Polish

Pronunciation

• Template:pl-IPA

Noun

malin f

1. genitive plural of malina