Etymology of the English word malfeasance
the English word
malfeasancederived from the Old French word
malderived from the Latin word
malus (apple tree; bad, evil, wicked; mast; beam; tall pole)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*mel-derived from the Anglo-Norman word
malfaisancederived from the Old French word
malfaisantderived from the Old French word
malfairederived from the Latin word
malefacere (do evil, wrong, harm)
derived from the Latin word
facere (to make; act, take action, be active; compose, write; classify; do, make; create; make, build, construct; produce; produce by growth; bring forth)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*dhē-derived from the Vulgar Latin word
male (badly, ill, wrongly)
derived from the Latin word
malus (apple tree; bad, evil, wicked; mast; beam; tall pole)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*mel-derived from the French word
malderived from the Vulgar Latin word
male (badly, ill, wrongly)
derived from the Latin word
malus (apple tree; bad, evil, wicked; mast; beam; tall pole)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*mel-derived from the Old French word
fairederived from the Latin word
facere (to make; act, take action, be active; compose, write; classify; do, make; create; make, build, construct; produce; produce by growth; bring forth)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*dhē-Date
The earliest known usage of malfeasance in English dates from the 17th century.
Cognates
German
MalefizUsage
Word found in Modern English
