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Root of the Week: MAL

  • Charlotte O'Connell
  • Feb 23, 2025
  • 1 min read

The Latin morpheme MAL, which is usually a prefix in English words, means bad, ill, or wrong.  MAL occurs regularly in fiction and fantasy, providing the names of villains like Malevole (in John Webster’s 1603 play The Malcontent), Maleficent (the evil fairy in Disney’s 1959 animated version of Sleeping Beauty and the title character of a later, 2014 film), and Draco Malfoy (in the Harry Potter series).

 
 
 

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