mal-

¹

1. a combining form meaning “bad,” “wrongful,” “ill,” occurring originally in loanwords from French (malapert ); on this model, used in the formation of other words (malfunction; malcontent ).

Mal.

²

abbreviation

1. Bible.,  Malachi.

2. Malayan.

Mal.

¹

abbreviation

1. Bible Malachi

2. Malay(an)

MAL

²

abbreviation

1. Malaysia (international car registration)

mal-

³

combining form

1. bad or badly; wrong or wrongly; imperfect or defective

   maladjusted

   malfunction

Word History and Origins

Origin of mal-¹

Middle English < Old French, representing mal adv. (< Latin male badly, ill) and adj. (< Latin malus bad)

Word History and Origins

Origin of mal-¹

Old French, from Latin malus bad, male badly

Example Sentences

The “Anthology” project found its origins in the early 1970s when Beatles insiders Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans began compiling “Scrapbook,” their rudimentary attempt at taking an audiovisual inventory of the group’s history.

Read more on Salon

On her 2018 album, “El Mal Querer,” Rosalía—she performs under her first name—fused flamenco forms with electronic pop inspired by various urbano styles from the Latin American streets.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

After the acclaim for her breakthrough album, El Mal Querer, which fused flamenco with R&B rhythms, and her genre-defying follow-up, Motomami, Rosalia offers an orchestral meditation on faith and femininity.

Read more on Barron's

And the build-up has been overshadowed by a head coach called Mal leaving for an Australian club job.

Read more on BBC

Mal Meninga, the captain in 1994, stepped down in June to join new NRL franchise Perth Bears.

Read more on BBC