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Definition 2024


Malus

Malus

See also: malus

Translingual

Malus toringo var. sargentii

Proper noun

Malus f

  1. A taxonomic genus within the family Rosaceae – the apples.

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

malus

malus

See also: Malus

English

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

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

Synonyms

Coordinate terms

Anagrams


Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic, related to Oscan mallom and mallud (bad). Originally associated with Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, black, dark), but support for this is waning. Perhaps from the same Proto-Indo-European root as Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 (mairiia, treacherous).

Pronunciation

Adjective

malus m (feminine mala, neuter malum, comparative peior, superlative pessimus); first/second declension

  1. bad, evil, wicked, injurious
    Malus et nequam homo.
    An evil and wicked man.
    Malam opinionem habere de aliquo.
    To have a bad opinion of someone.
    Consuetudo mala.
    A bad habit.
  2. destructive, mischievous, hurtful
  3. ill-looking, ugly, deformed
  4. (of fate) evil, unlucky
    Pessima puella.
    The unluckiest girl.
Inflection

First/second declension.

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

This adjective has irregular comparative and superlative degrees.

Antonyms
Derived terms
Descendants

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

Noun

mālus f (genitive mālī); second declension

  1. an apple tree
    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.
Inflection

Second declension.

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

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

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.
Inflection

Second declension.

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, 1883–1887)
  • Félix Gaffiot (1934), “malus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
  • Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, 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
  • 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 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
  • OLD, p. 1069