mal

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From Proto-Albanian *mala,^[1] from Illyrian *mol-on. Vladimir Orel proposed Lithuanian malà (“land”) and Latvian mala (“bank, shore”) as cognates. Proto-Albanian *mal- reflecting an ancient Balkan toponym.^[2]^[3] Preserved in patroynms, ethnonym malësor (“highlander, mountaineer”), in toponym (historical and ethnographic region) Malësia (north Albania and Montenegro). In Kosovo (Malishevë, Gjilan, Mališevo, Prizren), in Serbia (Maleševo (Golubac), Maleševo (Rekovac)) and the name of Maleshevo Mountain (North Macedonia and Bulgaria).^[4] Gil'Ferding proposed Sanskrit मरु (marú, “wilderness, mountain, rock”) as a cognate. According to Michel Morvan a common pre-Indo-European substrate with Basque malda (“slope”) and malkor (“precipice”)^[5] (cf. pre-Indo-European geonymic root *mal (*mel, *mol), Tamil மலை (malai, “hill, mountain”) and Malayalam മല (mala, “id”)).

La Piana and Huld suggested Old English molda (“forehead”) and Sanskrit मूर्धन् (mūrdhan, “head, top, summit”), both derived from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥Hdʰṓ. Also connected to Ancient Greek *μλωθρός (*mlōthrós), μέλαθρον (mélathron, “ridgepole”), βλαστάνω (blastánō, “to sprout, grow”). Compare also Ancient Greek βλωθρός (blōthrós, “lofty”), Avestan 𐬐𐬀-𐬨𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬜𐬋 (ka-mər^əδō, “demon's head”), with a semantic development from ‘head’ > ‘summit’, compare malë (“tongue tip, tree top”)) > ‘mountain’.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [mal] (Standard, Tosk)

Noun

mal m (plural male, definite mali, definite plural malet)

mount
Mali i Korabit ― Mount Korab
mountain
Synonym: bjeshkë
forest (Gheg)
large amount of something
Kam marrë një mal me letra. ― I've received a lot of papers.

Declension

Declension of mal

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	mal	mali	male	malet
accusative	mal	malin	male	malet
dative	mali	malit	maleve	maleve
ablative	mali	malit	malesh	maleve

Derived terms

Related terms

majë

Descendants

Aromanian: mal, meal
Romanian: mal (“shore”)

References

^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “mal”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 243 → (“Proto-Albanian *mala was borrowed into Rum. mal ('bank')”)
^ Gustav Meyer (1891) Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache, Trübner, page 273
^ Gustav Meyer (1892) Albanesische Studien III. Lautlehre des indogermanischen Bestandteile des Albanesischen, Carl Gerold's Sohn, pages 63, 78
^ Ernst Eichler, Gerold Hilty, Heinrich Löffler, Hugo Steger, Ladislav Zgusta (1995) Namenforschung 1. Teilband (Name Studies Volume 1, Les noms propres Tome 1), Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin - New York, →ISBN Invalid ISBN, page 718 → (Chapter: 104. Illyrian-Albanian Toponyms)[1]
^ Michel Morvan (1996) Les origines linguistiques du Basque (The linguistic origins of Basque), Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, →ISBN

Aleut

Pronunciation

(Western) IPA^(key): /ˈmal/

Verb

mal

to do

References

2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Aromanian

Alternative forms

malu

Etymology

Cognate to Daco-Romanian mal. From Proto-Albanian *mala (“mountain”) (Albanian mal). Proto-Albanian *mal- reflecting an ancient Balkan toponym.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] See Albanian mal (“mountain”) for more.

Noun

mal

shore
pile, heap

Related terms

meal

References

^ Ernst Eichler, Gerold Hilty, Heinrich Löffler, Hugo Steger, Ladislav Zgusta (1995) Namenforschung 1. Teilband (Name Studies Volume 1, Les noms propres Tome 1), Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin - New York, →ISBN Invalid ISBN, page 718 → (Chapter: 104. Illyrian-Albanian Toponyms)[2]
^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “mal”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 243 → (“Proto-Albanian *mala was borrowed into Rum. mal ('bank')”)
^ Gustav Meyer (1891) Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache, Trübner, page 273
^ Gustav Meyer (1892) Albanesische Studien III. Lautlehre des indogermanischen Bestandteile des Albanesischen, Carl Gerold's Sohn, pages 63, 78

Azerbaijani

Etymology

From Arabic مَال (māl, “property”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [mɑɫ]
Audio: (file)

Noun

mal (definite accusative malı, plural mallar)

property
Synonym: əmlak
goods, ware, commodity, product
Synonyms: məhsul, (formal) əmtəə

Çindən gətirilən mallar ― goods imported from China
(colloquial) cargo
cattle, livestock
cow
Synonym: inək
beef (mostly in combination with ət (“meat”))
mal əti ― beef
(colloquial, by extension) a dumb, dull person; an idiot
Nə var mal kimi durmusan orada? ― Don't stand there like an idiot!
(colloquial, derogatory, by extension) a well-fed, plump woman

Declension

Declension of mal
	singular	plural
nominative	mal	mallar
definite accusative	malı	malları
dative	mala	mallara
locative	malda	mallarda
ablative	maldan	mallardan
definite genitive	malın	malların

Possessive forms of mal
	nominative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	malım	mallarım
sənin (“your”)	malın	malların
onun (“his/her/its”)	malı	malları
bizim (“our”)	malımız	mallarımız
sizin (“your”)	malınız	mallarınız
onların (“their”)	malı or malları	malları
	accusative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	malımı	mallarımı
sənin (“your”)	malını	mallarını
onun (“his/her/its”)	malını	mallarını
bizim (“our”)	malımızı	mallarımızı
sizin (“your”)	malınızı	mallarınızı
onların (“their”)	malını or mallarını	mallarını
	dative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	malıma	mallarıma
sənin (“your”)	malına	mallarına
onun (“his/her/its”)	malına	mallarına
bizim (“our”)	malımıza	mallarımıza
sizin (“your”)	malınıza	mallarınıza
onların (“their”)	malına or mallarına	mallarına
	locative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	malımda	mallarımda
sənin (“your”)	malında	mallarında
onun (“his/her/its”)	malında	mallarında
bizim (“our”)	malımızda	mallarımızda
sizin (“your”)	malınızda	mallarınızda
onların (“their”)	malında or mallarında	mallarında
	ablative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	malımdan	mallarımdan
sənin (“your”)	malından	mallarından
onun (“his/her/its”)	malından	mallarından
bizim (“our”)	malımızdan	mallarımızdan
sizin (“your”)	malınızdan	mallarınızdan
onların (“their”)	malından or mallarından	mallarından
	genitive
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	malımın	mallarımın
sənin (“your”)	malının	mallarının
onun (“his/her/its”)	malının	mallarının
bizim (“our”)	malımızın	mallarımızın
sizin (“your”)	malınızın	mallarınızın
onların (“their”)	malının or mallarının	mallarının

Derived terms

Bouyei

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ma˨˦/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Tai *ʰmaːᴬ (“to come”). Cognate with Thai มา (maa), Northern Thai ᨾᩣ (ma), Lao ມາ (mā), Lü ᦙᦱ (maa), Ahom 𑜉𑜠 (ma), 𑜉𑜡 (mā), 𑜉𑜡𑜠 (māa), Zhuang maz.

Verb

mal

to come

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Proto-Tai *ʰmaːᴬ (“dog”). Cognate with Thai หมา, Lao ໝາ (mā), Lü ᦖᦱ (ṁaa), Shan မႃ (mǎa), Zhuang ma.

Noun

mal

dog

Synonyms

duezmal

Derived terms

Cara

Noun

mal

water

References

R. Blench, The Rukul language of Central Nigeria and its affinities (2006) (mentions this word in notes)

Catalan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈmal]
Rhymes: -al

Etymology 1

From Old Catalan mal, from Latin malus.

Noun

mal m (plural mals)

evil, bad
Antonym: bé
illness
Synonym: malaltia

Derived terms

Related terms

malícia

Etymology 2

From Old Catalan mal, from Latin male.

Adverb

mal

badly, poorly
Synonym: malament

Antonym: bé

Derived terms

Adjective

mal (feminine mala, masculine plural mals, feminine plural males)

bad, poor
Synonym: dolent

Antonym: bo

Derived terms

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish mal, apocopic form of malo (“evil”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmal/ [ˈmal̪]

Noun

mal

(billiards) a foul

Verb

mal

(billiards) to commit a foul

Cimbrian

Etymology

From Middle High German māl, from Old High German māl, from Proto-West Germanic *māl, from Proto-Germanic *mēlą (“measurement; time; meal”). Cognate with German Mal, Mahl, English meal.

Noun

mal n

(Luserna) meal

Related terms

malzait

References

“mal” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Arabic مال (māl, “property”).

Noun

mal

article, product
cattle, livestocks

Declension

Declension of mal

	singular	plural
nominative	mal	mallar
genitive	malnıñ	mallarnıñ
dative	malğa	mallarğa
accusative	malnı	mallarnı
locative	malda	mallarda
ablative	maldan	mallardan

References

“mal”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

Dalmatian

Alternative forms

mul

Etymology

From Latin malus.

Noun

mal

evil, harm

Danish

Verb

mal

imperative of male

Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old French modle, an old (11th century) borrowing from Latin modulus (“measure”).

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -ɑl
Audio: (file)
IPA^(key): /mɑl/

Noun

mal f (plural mallen, diminutive malletje n)

mold, cast (device to help creating shapes)

Descendants

→ Papiamentu: malchi, maltsje (from the diminutive)

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch mal, of uncertain origin. Cognate with German malle. Possibly related to French mal (“bad”) or Dutch malen (“to grind, crush”) in the sense "broken, twisted."

Adjective

mal (comparative maller, superlative malst)

foolish, crazy, lacking common sense

Usage notes

The adjective mal always refers to an aspect of a thing or person. It is the adjective form of the noun mallerd. For other senses, dwaas, dom and gek are used.

Declension

Declension of mal
uninflected	mal
inflected	malle
comparative	maller
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		mal	maller	het malst het malste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	malle	mallere	malste
	n. sing.	mal	maller	malste
	plural	malle	mallere	malste
definite		malle	mallere	malste
partitive		mals	mallers	—

Derived terms

Descendants

Afrikaans: mal

Anagrams

lam

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mal/
Audio: (file)

Etymology 1

From Old French mal, from Latin malus, possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“bad, wrong”). Near cognates include Portuguese mal, Italian male and Spanish malo.

Noun

mal m (plural maux)

(as in the phrase: avoir du mal) trouble, difficulty
Synonyms: problème, emmerde, misère, difficulté

J’ai du mal à m’imaginer ça. ― I have trouble imagining that.
pain
Synonym: douleur

J’ai mal à la tête. ― I have a headache. (literally, “I have pain at the head.”)
- 1986, “Il était une fois … une maison des musiciens [There Once Was… a House of Musicians]”, in Il était une fois … une petite grenouille [There Once Was… a Little Frog] (fiction), Paris: CLE International:
  Aïe, j’ai mal au bras !
  Ouille, j’ai mal aux dents! Et toi, le lit, tu n’as pas mal aux pieds ?
  Non, mais j’ai mal à la tête.
  Moi, j’ai mal aux oreilles !
  Argh, my arms hurt!
  Oww, my teeth hurt! How about you, bed, don't your legs hurt?
  No, it's my head that hurts.
  As for me, my ears hurt!
evil
Le philosophe abordait de grandes questions du bon et du mal. ― The philosopher discussed broad questions of good and evil.
damage, harm
Synonyms: tort, dommage

Le mal est fait. ― The damage is done.

Derived terms

Related terms

malice

Descendants

→ English: mal

Etymology 2

From Old French, from Latin male.

Adverb

mal

badly
C’est mal fait. ― It's done badly.

Adjective

mal (feminine male, masculine plural maux, feminine plural males)

(in set phrases and limited constructions) bad
bon an, mal an ― good year, bad year

bon gré, mal gré ― willy-nilly (literally, “good will, bad will”)

Il est mal de [infinitive] ― It’s wrong to [infinitive]

C’est mal de [infinitive] ― It’s wrong to [infinitive]

Synonyms

mauvais
méchant
vilain
laid
merdique (vulgar slang)

Derived terms

Anagrams

AML

Galician

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmal/ [ˈmɑɫ]
Rhymes: -al
Hyphenation: mal

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese mal, from Latin male.

Adverb

mal

badly
Antonym: ben

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese mal, from Latin malum.

Noun

mal m (plural males)

Etymology 3

Adjective

mal m sg

(before the noun) Apocopic form of malo

Etymology 4

Peasants using **males** ("flails") to thresh cereal

Attested since circa 1300 (máále), from Latin manualis (“manual”). Cognate with Portuguese mangual.

Alternative forms

malle, mallo, manle, manlle

Noun

mal m (plural males)

flail
- c. 1300, R. Martínez López, editor, General Estoria. Versión gallega del siglo XIV, Oviedo: Archivum, page 271:
  cõmo faz a lyma ao ferro, et a fornaz ao ouro que o purga et esmera et o faz puro et paresçe mellor, et cõmo faz outrosi o máále áá messe que a degrana em çeueyra et parte a palla do graão que e o mellor
  as the file does to iron, and the furnace to gold, that purges and cleans it and makes it pure and looks better; and also as the flail does to the harvest, that threshes it into sustenance and parts the straw and the grain, which is the best part
- 1474, Antonio López Ferreiro, editor, Galicia Histórica. Colección diplomática, Santiago: Tipografía Galaica, page 67:
  Iten, preçaron hun maal en tres maravedis
  Item, they appraised a flail in three coins
handle of the flail
Synonyms: mango, mangueira, moca

References

Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “mal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “maal”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “mal”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “mal”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “mal”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

German

Etymology

From the noun Mal (“time”). Partly shortened from einmal, which is also derived from the noun.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /maːl/ (standard)
IPA^(key): /ma/ (colloquial)
Audio: (file)
Homophones: Mahl, Mal, mahl
Rhymes: -aːl

Adverb

mal

times (indicating multiplication of two numbers)
sechs mal sieben ist zweiundvierzig
six times seven is forty-two
(informal) Alternative form of einmal (“sometime, ever, once”), may serve to introduce a new information.
Wenn du in Köln bist, musst du mal bei deiner Tante anrufen.
When you’re in Cologne, you must call your aunt sometime.

Ich geh mal zum Kaffeestand.
I’m off to the coffee stall.
(going to the coffee stall was not discussed at the moment)
(informal) Softening a sentence, thus making a request or command more polite. By extension, indicating a command or request.
Haben Sie mal Feuer?
Do you have a lighter [please]?
(can not imply that the asker is offering his lighter)

Haste Feuer?
D'ya have fire?
(may imply that the asker is offering his lighter)

Du musst mal deine Tante anrufen.
You have to call your aunt.
(urging to do it now or very soon)

Derived terms

Malrechnung
schon mal (schomma)

Verb

mal

singular imperative of malen
(colloquial) first-person singular present of malen

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese mal. Cognate with Kabuverdianu mal.

Adjective

mal

bad

Related terms

mau

Icelandic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [maːl]
Rhymes: -aːl

Etymology 1

From mala (“to purr”).

Noun

mal n (genitive singular mals, no plural)

purr

Declension

Declension of mal (sg-only neuter)

	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	mal	malið
accusative	mal	malið
dative	mali	malinu
genitive	mals	malsins

Etymology 2

See malur.

Noun

mal

indefinite accusative singular of malur

Indonesian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmal]
Hyphenation: mal

Etymology 1

From Malay mal.

Noun

mal (first-person possessive malku, second-person possessive malmu, third-person possessive malnya)

head
Synonym: kepala
top (of kris)
Synonym: ganja
bottom (of a blade)
Synonym: pangkal

Etymology 2

From Malay mal, from Arabic مَال (māl).

Noun

mal (first-person possessive malku, second-person possessive malmu, third-person possessive malnya)

treasure
Synonyms: khazanah, harta benda
synonym of dana

Etymology 3

From Dutch mal (“mold, cast”), from Old French modle, from Latin modulus (“measure”). Doublet of modulus.

Noun

mal (first-person possessive malku, second-person possessive malmu, third-person possessive malnya)

mold, cast.
Synonym: cetakan
pattern.
Synonym: pola

Etymology 4

From English mall.

Noun

mal (first-person possessive malku, second-person possessive malmu, third-person possessive malnya)

shopping centre, mall.
Synonyms: plaza, pusat perbelanjaan

Interlingua

Etymology

From Latin malus.

Adjective

mal (comparative plus mal, superlative le plus mal)

bad
evil

Adverb

mal (comparative plus mal, superlative le plus mal)

badly, poorly
wrongfully

Noun

mal (plural males)

bad, badness, something bad
evil
illness
pain, ache

Italian

Noun

mal m (apocopated)

Apocopic form of male

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese mal.

Adjective

mal

bad

Related terms

mau

Latvian

Verb

mal

inflection of malt:
1. second-person singular present indicative
2. second-person singular imperative

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian male, from Latin malus.

Adjective

mal

bad

Mangas

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /māl/

Noun

mal

heart

References

Blench, Robert; Bulkaam, Michael (2021) An Introduction to Mantsi, a South Bauchi language of Central Nigeria. University of Cambridge.

Middle English

Noun

mal

Alternative form of male

Adjective

mal

Alternative form of male

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French mal.

Noun

mal m (plural maulx)

bad act

Descendants

French: mal
- → English: mal

Adjective

mal m (feminine singular male or malle, masculine plural maulx, feminine plural males or malles)

bad; evil

Descendants

French: mal

Adverb

mal

evilly; badly; poorly

Descendants

French: mal

Middle Welsh

Noun

mal

tax

Miraya Bikol

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay mahal. Compare Bikol Central mahal and Tagalog mahal.

Adjective

mal

expensive
Antonym: barato

Norman

Etymology

From Old French mal, from Latin male.

Adverb

mal

(Guernsey) badly

Adjective

mal

(Guernsey) bad

Northern Kurdish

Etymology

From Proto-Iranian *dmáHnaH.

Noun

mal f

home
family, dynasty, house

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Dutch mal.

Noun

mal m (definite singular malen, indefinite plural maler, definite plural malene)

a template

Etymology 2

Verb

mal

imperative of male

References

“mal” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Dutch mal.

Noun

mal m (definite singular malen, indefinite plural malar, definite plural malane)

a template

Etymology 2

Verb

mal

imperative of mala

References

“mal” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Alternative forms

maal

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *mailą.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mɑːl/

Noun

māl n

mole (spot on the skin)
mark, spot

Declension

Declension of māl (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	māl	māl
accusative	māl	māl
genitive	māles	māla
dative	māle	mālum

Descendants

Middle English: mal, mole, mool
- English: mole
- Scots: mail, mold

Etymology 2

Noun

māl n

a suit, legal case, prosecution, defense

Derived terms

References

Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “mál”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[4], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old French

Etymology 1

From Latin male.

Adverb

mal

evilly
badly; poorly

Descendants

Middle French: mal
- French: mal
  - → English: mal

Etymology 2

From Latin malus.

Noun

mal oblique singular, m (oblique plural maus or max or mals, nominative singular maus or max or mals, nominative plural mal)

evil
pain, suffering

Descendants

Middle French: mal
- French: mal
  - → English: mal

Adjective

mal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular male, comparative peior, superlative peior)

bad (undesirable; not good)

Descendants

Middle French: mal
- French: mal
  - → English: mal

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin male (“badly; wrongly”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmal/
Rhymes: -al

Adverb

mal

badly

Descendants

Fala: mal
Galician: mal
Portuguese: mal (see there for further descendants)

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin malus. Gallo-Romance cognate with Old French mal.

Adjective

mal

bad (negative)
bad (evil)

Descendants

Occitan: mal

References

Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “malus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 6/1: Mabile–Mephitis, pages 123–128

Phalura

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mal/

Noun

mal f (Perso-Arabic spelling مل)

goats

Inflection

i-decl (Obl): -í

References

Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “mal”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[5], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Portuguese

Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:

mal

Wikipedia ^pt

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmaw/ [ˈmaʊ̯]

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmal/ [ˈmaɫ]
- (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈma.li/

Homophone: mau (Brazil)
Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
Hyphenation: mal

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese mal, from Latin male (“badly; wrongly”).

Alternative forms

mar (eye dialect spelling, representing Caipira Portuguese)

Adverb

mal (comparable, comparative pior)

badly (in a faulty, dysfunctional or incorrect manner)
O carro está a funcionar/funcionando bem mal.
The car is running pretty badly.

(O) João fala inglês mal.
John speaks English badly.
(preceding verbs) hardly; barely
Ele mal consegue estudar com todo este barulho.
He can hardly study with all this noise.
wrong (incorrect)
A resposta está mal.
The answer is wrong.
unfavourably (in an unfavourable manner)
Penso mal de ti.
I think unfavourably of you.

Ele fala mal de ti.
He speaks unfavourably of you.
(in compounds) evilly
mal-assombrado ― haunted (literally, “evilly-shadowed”)

mal-agourado ― cursed (literally, “evilly-foreboded”)

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:mal.

Synonyms

mamente, malmente

Conjunction

mal

have/had just; have/had barely
Mal tinha saído quando a encontrei.
I had barely gone out when I found her.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:mal.

Etymology 2

From Latin malus. Compare Italian male, Sicilian mali.

Noun

mal m (plural males)

(uncountable) evil (malevolent forces or behaviour)
As forças do mal cercaram o castelo.
The forces of evil sieged the castle.
harm
Ela não fez por mal.
She meant no harm.

Não faz mal.
No problem. (It does not matter.)
malady (any ailment or disease, especially a lingering one)
mal de Parkinson
Parkinson's disease

Males como a SIDA e pneumonia são mortais.
Illnesses such as AIDS and pneumonia are deadly.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:mal.

Synonyms

(sickness or syndrome): maladia

Derived terms

Related terms

Adjective

mal

(Brazil) Misspelling of mau.

Descendants

Guinea-Bissau Creole: mal
Kabuverdianu: mal

Romanian

Etymology

Cognate to Aromanian mal and meal. From Proto-Albanian *mala (“mountain”) (Standard Albanian mal).^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] See Albanian mal (“mountain”) for more.

Noun

mal n (plural maluri)

shore

Declension

Declension of mal

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) mal	malul	(niște) maluri	malurile
genitive/dative	(unui) mal	malului	(unor) maluri	malurilor
vocative	malule		malurilor

References

^ Ernst Eichler, Gerold Hilty, Heinrich Löffler, Hugo Steger, Ladislav Zgusta (1995) Namenforschung 1. Teilband (Name Studies Volume 1, Les noms propres Tome 1), Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin - New York, →ISBN, page 718 → (Chapter: 104. Illyrian-Albanian Toponyms)[3]
^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “mal”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 243 → (“Proto-Albanian *mala was borrowed into Rum. mal ('bank')”)
^ Gustav Meyer (1891) Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache, Trübner, page 273
^ Gustav Meyer (1892) Albanesische Studien III. Lautlehre des indogermanischen Bestandteile des Albanesischen, Carl Gerold's Sohn, pages 63, 78

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *malъ, from Proto-Indo-European *moh₁los.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mâːl/

Adjective

mȃl (Cyrillic spelling ма̑л, definite mȃlī, comparative mȁnjī)

small

Declension

positive indefinite forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		mal	mala	malo
genitive		mala	male	mala
dative		malu	maloj	malu
accusative	inanimate animate	mal mala	malu	malo
vocative		mal	mala	malo
locative		malu	maloj	malu
instrumental		malim	malom	malim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		mali	male	mala
genitive		malih	malih	malih
dative		malim(a)	malim(a)	malim(a)
accusative		male	male	mala
vocative		mali	male	mala
locative		malim(a)	malim(a)	malim(a)
instrumental		malim(a)	malim(a)	malim(a)

positive definite forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		mali	mala	malo
genitive		malog(a)	male	malog(a)
dative		malom(u/e)	maloj	malom(u/e)
accusative	inanimate animate	mali malog(a)	malu	malo
vocative		mali	mala	malo
locative		malom(e/u)	maloj	malom(e/u)
instrumental		malim	malom	malim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		mali	male	mala
genitive		malih	malih	malih
dative		malim(a)	malim(a)	malim(a)
accusative		male	male	mala
vocative		mali	male	mala
locative		malim(a)	malim(a)	malim(a)
instrumental		malim(a)	malim(a)	malim(a)

comparative forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		manji	manja	manje
genitive		manjeg(a)	manje	manjeg(a)
dative		manjem(u)	manjoj	manjem(u)
accusative	inanimate animate	manji manjeg(a)	manju	manje
vocative		manji	manja	manje
locative		manjem(u)	manjoj	manjem(u)
instrumental		manjim	manjom	manjim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		manji	manje	manja
genitive		manjih	manjih	manjih
dative		manjim(a)	manjim(a)	manjim(a)
accusative		manje	manje	manja
vocative		manji	manje	manja
locative		manjim(a)	manjim(a)	manjim(a)
instrumental		manjim(a)	manjim(a)	manjim(a)

superlative forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		najmanji	najmanja	najmanje
genitive		najmanjeg(a)	najmanje	najmanjeg(a)
dative		najmanjem(u)	najmanjoj	najmanjem(u)
accusative	inanimate animate	najmanji najmanjeg(a)	najmanju	najmanje
vocative		najmanji	najmanja	najmanje
locative		najmanjem(u)	najmanjoj	najmanjem(u)
instrumental		najmanjim	najmanjom	najmanjim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		najmanji	najmanje	najmanja
genitive		najmanjih	najmanjih	najmanjih
dative		najmanjim(a)	najmanjim(a)	najmanjim(a)
accusative		najmanje	najmanje	najmanja
vocative		najmanji	najmanje	najmanja
locative		najmanjim(a)	najmanjim(a)	najmanjim(a)
instrumental		najmanjim(a)	najmanjim(a)	najmanjim(a)

Related terms

màlen

Slovak

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [mal]

Participle

mal

masculine singular l-participle of mať

Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmal/ [ˈmal]
Audio (Colombia): (file)
Rhymes: -al
Syllabification: mal

Etymology 1

Apocopic form of malo, from Latin malus, possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“bad, wrong”).

Adjective

mal m (apocopate, standard form malo)

(before the noun) Apocopic form of malo bad; evil
amiss, awry, off, wrong
Me di cuenta de que algo estaba mal.
I realized something was amiss.

Usage notes

Mal is only used before a masculine singular noun. In other positions, malo is used instead.

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

From Latin male.

Adverb

mal (comparative peor)

badly, poorly, ill
No hables mal de los muertos.
Don't speak ill of the dead.

Qué mal.
Too bad. / That's too bad.
awry, amiss, wrong, wrongly
Tu plan maestro salió mal bastante rápido
Your master plan went awry pretty quickly.
hard (functions as an adverb in Spanish but translates as an adjective in English)
Estoy pasándolo mal con todo ahora mismo.
I'm just having a hard time with everything right now.

Derived terms

Noun

mal m (plural males)

evil, harm; a bad thing or situation
de mal en peor ― from bad to worse
disease, illness, ailment
... le curaremos, si es que su mal tiene cura...
... we shall cure him, if his ailment has a cure...
(Cervantes, Quijote, ch. 23)
worse (substantive)
para bien o para mal ― for better or for worse

Derived terms

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

mal

Wikipedia ^sv

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mɑːl/
Audio (Gotland); “en mal”: (file)
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɑːl

Etymology 1

From Old Norse mǫlr, from Proto-Germanic *malwan, from Proto-Indo-European *molH-(y)o-. See also Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌻𐍉 (malō) and German Milbe.

Noun

mal c

Declension

Declension of mal

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	mal	mals
singular	definite	malen	malens
plural	indefinite	malar	malars
plural	definite	malarna	malarnas

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

mal

inflection of mala:
1. imperative
2. present indicative

References

Anagrams

LMA, alm, lam

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish مال (mal), from Arabic مَال (māl, “property”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɑɫ/
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: mal

Noun

mal (definite accusative malı, plural mallar or (dated) emval)

cattle
goods, property
asset
(economy) merchandise
(law) goods, commodity
(colloquial, derogatory) (no equivalent expression; likely) an expendable or ignorable stupid and annoying person, douche, prick
(slang, vulgar) a prostitute
(slang) heroin

Declension

Inflection

Nominative

mal

Definite accusative

malı

Singular

Plural

Nominative

mal

Definite accusative

Dative

Locative

Ablative

Genitive

Possessive forms
Nominative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	malım	mallarım
2nd singular	malın	malların
3rd singular	malı	malları
1st plural	malımız	mallarımız
2nd plural	malınız	mallarınız
3rd plural	malları	malları
Definite accusative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	malımı	mallarımı
2nd singular	malını	mallarını
3rd singular	malını	mallarını
1st plural	malımızı	mallarımızı
2nd plural	malınızı	mallarınızı
3rd plural	mallarını	mallarını
Dative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	malıma	mallarıma
2nd singular	malına	mallarına
3rd singular	malına	mallarına
1st plural	malımıza	mallarımıza
2nd plural	malınıza	mallarınıza
3rd plural	mallarına	mallarına
Locative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	malımda	mallarımda
2nd singular	malında	mallarında
3rd singular	malında	mallarında
1st plural	malımızda	mallarımızda
2nd plural	malınızda	mallarınızda
3rd plural	mallarında	mallarında
Ablative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	malımdan	mallarımdan
2nd singular	malından	mallarından
3rd singular	malından	mallarından
1st plural	malımızdan	mallarımızdan
2nd plural	malınızdan	mallarınızdan
3rd plural	mallarından	mallarından
Genitive
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	malımın	mallarımın
2nd singular	malının	mallarının
3rd singular	malının	mallarının
1st plural	malımızın	mallarımızın
2nd plural	malınızın	mallarınızın
3rd plural	mallarının	mallarının

Predicative forms
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	malım	mallarım
2nd singular	malsın	mallarsın
3rd singular	mal maldır	mallar mallardır
1st plural	malız	mallarız
2nd plural	malsınız	mallarsınız
3rd plural	mallar	mallardır

Related terms

emval

Descendants

→ Albanian: mall

West Albay Bikol

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay mahal. Compare Bikol Central mahal and Tagalog mahal.

Adjective

mal

expensive
Antonym: barato

Woleaian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmaɾ/

Noun

mal

bird

Zou

Noun

mal

thigh

References

Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 45

[1] Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “mal”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 243 → (“Proto-Albanian *mala was borrowed into Rum. mal ('bank')”)

[2] Gustav Meyer (1891) Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache, Trübner, page 273

[3] Gustav Meyer (1892) Albanesische Studien III. Lautlehre des indogermanischen Bestandteile des Albanesischen, Carl Gerold's Sohn, pages 63, 78

[4] Ernst Eichler, Gerold Hilty, Heinrich Löffler, Hugo Steger, Ladislav Zgusta (1995) Namenforschung 1. Teilband (Name Studies Volume 1, Les noms propres Tome 1), Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin - New York, →ISBN Invalid ISBN, page 718 → (Chapter: 104. Illyrian-Albanian Toponyms)[1]

[5] Michel Morvan (1996) Les origines linguistiques du Basque (The linguistic origins of Basque), Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, →ISBN

[6] Ernst Eichler, Gerold Hilty, Heinrich Löffler, Hugo Steger, Ladislav Zgusta (1995) Namenforschung 1. Teilband (Name Studies Volume 1, Les noms propres Tome 1), Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin - New York, →ISBN Invalid ISBN, page 718 → (Chapter: 104. Illyrian-Albanian Toponyms)[2]

[7] Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “mal”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 243 → (“Proto-Albanian *mala was borrowed into Rum. mal ('bank')”)

[8] Gustav Meyer (1891) Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache, Trübner, page 273

[9] Gustav Meyer (1892) Albanesische Studien III. Lautlehre des indogermanischen Bestandteile des Albanesischen, Carl Gerold's Sohn, pages 63, 78

[10] Ernst Eichler, Gerold Hilty, Heinrich Löffler, Hugo Steger, Ladislav Zgusta (1995) Namenforschung 1. Teilband (Name Studies Volume 1, Les noms propres Tome 1), Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin - New York, →ISBN, page 718 → (Chapter: 104. Illyrian-Albanian Toponyms)[3]

[11] Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “mal”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 243 → (“Proto-Albanian *mala was borrowed into Rum. mal ('bank')”)

[12] Gustav Meyer (1891) Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache, Trübner, page 273

[13] Gustav Meyer (1892) Albanesische Studien III. Lautlehre des indogermanischen Bestandteile des Albanesischen, Carl Gerold's Sohn, pages 63, 78

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mal

Translingual

Symbol

See also

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Etymology 2

Noun

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Noun

Derived terms

See also

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

Adjective

Inflection

Derived terms

Albanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

References

Aleut

Pronunciation

Verb

References

Aromanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

Related terms

References

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

Bouyei

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Verb

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Cara

Noun

References

Catalan

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Adverb

Derived terms

Adjective

Derived terms

Further reading

Cebuano

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Verb