"bad" in seven languages
Meaningbad
Spanish
/ˈmalo/
inherited
Shortens to mal before a masculine noun: mal tiempo.
French
/movɛ/
other source · spoken Latin *MALIFĀTIUM 'ill-fated' (MALUM + FĀTUM)
Italian
/katˈtivo/
other source · Latin CAPTĪVUM 'captive', from Christian CAPTĪVUS DIABOLĪ 'the devil's prisoner'
Portuguese
/maw/
inherited
fem.: má
In Brazil, everyday 'bad, poor quality' is often ruim; mau leans to 'bad, evil'.
Romanian
/rəw/
other source · Latin REUM 'accused, guilty'
fem.: rea
Catalan
/duˈlen/
other source · Latin DOLENTEM 'suffering, grieving'
Mal also exists before nouns: mal temps 'bad weather'.
English
/bæd/
native English · Middle English badde, of uncertain origin
Watch out: false friends
cautivo (Spanish) means “captive” · cattivo (Italian) means “bad, naughty”
Both from Latin CAPTĪVUM 'captive'. Christian Latin spoke of the soul captive of the devil (captīvus diabolī), and Italian cattivo slid from 'captive' to 'wicked'. French chétif 'puny' is a third outcome.
The Latin ancestor
MALUM‘bad’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Only Spanish kept plain MALUS as its adjective. French 'bad' is 'ill-fated', and Italian cattivo was once a prisoner — of the devil. English caitiff 'wretch' is its cognate.
English relatives: malice, malady, malevolent (MALUM); captive, caitiff (CAPTĪVUM)
Learn it
In a sentence
- esHace mal tiempo.
- frIl fait mauvais.
- itFa brutto tempo.
- ptEstá fazendo mau tempo.
- roVremea e rea.
- caFa mal temps.
- enThe weather is bad.