malus

See also: Malus and mālus

English

Etymology 1

From Latin malus, by analogy with bonus (“additional compensation”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪ.ləs/, /ˈmɑː.ləs/, /ˈmæ.ləs/

Noun

malus (plural maluses)

1. (business) The return of performance-related compensation originally paid by an employer to an employee as a result of the discovery of a defect in the performance.

   When bank fired the loan originator, they recovered the last two years of her bonuses under the malus clause in her contract.

2. (rare) A penalty or negative thing.

Usage notes

• May occur in financial services in connection with defaulted loans.
• Sometimes used in reference to games as a negative counterpart to "bonus".

Synonyms

• clawback

Coordinate terms

• disgorgement

Etymology 2

Noun

malus

1. plural of malu

Anagrams

• alums, lumas, mauls, musal

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Latin

Etymology 1

(deprecated template usage)

From Proto-Italic *malos, related to Oscan mallom and mallud (“bad”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *mel- (“to deceive”), cognate with Lithuanian melas (“lie”) and the first element of Ancient Greek βλάσφημος (blásphēmos, “jinx”). Alternatively, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mal-, it would then be a cognate with English small.

Originally associated with Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “black, dark”), but support for this is waning. Also compare Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 (maⁱriia, “treacherous”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈma.lus/, [ˈmäɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.lus/, [ˈmäːlus]

• Audio (Classical):

  (file)

Adjective

malus (feminine mala, neuter malum, comparative pēior, superlative pessimus, adverb male); first/second-declension adjective

1. unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad

   Abī in malam crucem, malum cruciātum. ― Go to hell, get lost, piss off.

   Mala rēs. ― Trouble, bad business.

   Mala aetās. ― Old age.

2. unpleasant to the senses, sight, smell, taste, touch

   Mala faciēs. ― Ugly face.

3. bad, evil, wicked, mischievous

   Malus et nēquam homō. ― An evil and wicked man.

   Dolus malus. ― Deliberate deception, malice afterthought (legal language).

4. destructive, hurtful, noxious, evil

   Consuētūdō mala. ― A bad habit.

   Mala vōta, carmina susurrāre. ― To whisper evil spells, incantations.

5. unkind, hostile, abusive

   Mala verba. ― Abuses.

6. associated with bad luck, unlucky, unfavourable, unfortunate, adverse, evil

   Mala tempestās. ― Bad, unfavourable, unsuitable weather.

   Malam fāmam ferre. ― To bring bad reputation, ill fame.

   Malīs avibus. ― Under evil auspices. (literally, “Under bad birds.”)

   Reliquiae malae pugnae. ― Remnants of an unsuccessful, adverse battle.

7. poor in condition or capacity, inept

   Mala merx/mers. ― A bad lot (of persons) .

   Malā mente esse. ― To be out of one's mind.

   Pessimus poēta. ― The worst poet.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	malus	mala	malum		malī	malae	mala
Genitive	malī	malae	malī		malōrum	malārum	malōrum
Dative	malō		malō		malīs
Accusative	malum	malam	malum		malōs	malās	mala
Ablative	malō	malā	malō		malīs
Vocative	male	mala	malum		malī	malae	mala

Synonyms

• improbus, nēquam, malignus, scelerātus, perversus, prāvus

Antonyms

• bonus, probus, rēctus, integer, castus

Derived terms

• carmen malum
• male
• maledīcō

• malefaciō
• malitās
• malum in sē

Descendants

• Asturian: malu
• Catalan: mal
• Champaignat: mau
• Dalmatian: mul
• English: malus
• French: mal
• Friulian: mâl
• Guinea-Bissau Creole: mau, mal
• Italian: malo
• Kabuverdianu: mau, mal
• Occitan: mal
• Papiamentu: malu
• Portuguese: mau, mal
• Romansch: mal, mel
• Sardinian: malu, malosu
• Sicilian: malu
• Spanish: malo, mal

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek μηλέα (mēléa) (See also Ancient Greek μᾶλον (mâlon, “apple”), μῆλον (mêlon, “apple”)).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmaː.lus/, [ˈmäːɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.lus/, [ˈmäːlus]

• Audio (Classical):

  (file)

Noun

mālus f (genitive mālī); second declension

1. an apple tree; specifically, a plant in the genus Malus in the family Rosaceae.

   Malus bifera.

   An apple tree bearing fruit biannually.

   Et steriles platani malos gessere valentes.

   And the fruitless plane trees have borne strong apple trees.

   Felices arbores putantur esse quercus vel malus.

   The fruitful trees are thought to be an oak or apple tree.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mālus	mālī
Genitive	mālī	mālōrum
Dative	mālō	mālīs
Accusative	mālum	mālōs
Ablative	mālō	mālīs
Vocative	māle	mālī

Derived terms

• mālus grānāta
• mālus domestica

Descendants

• Translingual: Malus
• Aromanian: mer
• Italian: melo
• Romanian: măr

Etymology 3

By some referred to root mac-, from the Ancient Greek word μακρός (makrós, “long”) and Latin magnus (“long”); but perhaps the same word with malus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmaː.lus/, [ˈmäːɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.lus/, [ˈmäːlus]

Noun

mālus m (genitive mālī); second declension

1. a mast of a ship

   Antemnas ad malos destinare.

   To fasten the sails to the masts.

   Malum erigi imperavit.

   He has ordered the mast to be erected.

   Attolli malos.

   The masts are lifted.

2. a standard or pole to which the awnings spread over the theater were attached
3. the beam in the middle of a winepress
4. the corner beams of a tower

   Turrium mali.

   Beams of the towers.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mālus	mālī
Genitive	mālī	mālōrum
Dative	mālō	mālīs
Accusative	mālum	mālōs
Ablative	mālō	mālīs
Vocative	māle	mālī

References

• “malus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “malus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• malus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• malus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) to be broken down by misfortune: in malis iacere
    
  • (ambiguous) to be hard pressed by misfortune: malis urgeri
    
  • (ambiguous) to have a good or bad reputation, be spoken well, ill of: bona, mala existimatio est de aliquo
    
  • (ambiguous) moral science; ethics: philosophia, in qua de bonis rebus et malis, deque hominum vita et moribus disputatur
    
  • (ambiguous) to take a thing in good (bad) part: in bonam (malam) partem accipere aliquid
    
  • (ambiguous) my mind forebodes misfortune: animus praesāgit malum
    
  • (ambiguous) my mind forebodes misfortune: animo praesagio malum
    
  • (ambiguous) a guilty conscience: conscientia mala or peccatorum, culpae, sceleris, delicti
    
  • (ambiguous) to be tormented by remorse: conscientia mala angi, excruciari
    
  • (ambiguous) to bless (curse) a person: precari alicui bene (male) or omnia bona (mala), salutem
    
  • (ambiguous) from beginning to end: ab ovo usque ad mala (proverb.)
    
• “malus”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎^[2]
• “malus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “malus”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
• “malus”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly
• “malus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
• “malus” on page 1069 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)