malus

See also: Malus, mālus, and măluș

English

Etymology 1

From Latin malus, by analogy with bonus (“additional compensation”). Doublet of mal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪ.ləs/, /ˈmɑː.ləs/, /ˈmæ.ləs/

Noun

malus (plural maluses or mali)

1. (business) The loss or 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.

   • c. 1997, ASTIN Bulletin, page 48:

     The existence of boni and mali for the different risks can be interpreted through the sign of estimated covariances.

   • 2000, Jean Pinquet, “Experience Rating through Heterogeneous Models”, in Georges Dionne, editor, Handbook of Insurance, Kluwer Academic Publishers, page 462:

     If the boni and mali do not depend on the frequency of claims, the average bonus-malus coefficient increases with the frequency.

   • 2008, Henner Gimpel, Nicolas R. Jennings, Gregory E. Kersten, Axel Ockenfels, Christof Weinhardt, Negotiation, Auctions, and Market Engineering: International Seminar, Dagstuhl Castle, Germany, November 12-17, 2006, Revised Selected Papers, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 62:

     Bidders with inferior quality, higher transport costs or additional switching costs receive a Malus which decreases their bid automatically to incorporate the disadvantages. Bonus Malus Auctions are used by about 50% of all companies.

   • 2014, Akmal Akramkhanov, Bernhard Tischbein, Usman Khalid Awan, “Effective management of soil salinity – revising leaching norms”, in John P. A. Lamers, Asia Khamzina, Inna Rudenko, Paul L. G. Vlek, editors, Restructuring Land Allocation, Water Use and Agricultural Value Chains: Technologies, Policies and Practices for the Lower Amudarya Region, V & R unipress, Bonn University Press, →ISBN, page 131:

     Akramkhanov et al. (2010) also suggested a system of boni and mali on taxes to support the implementation of measures to achieve both water saving and salinity control (Table 3.3.1).

   • 2016, David Aveiro, Robert Pergl, Duarte Gouveia, Advances in Enterprise Engineering X: 6th Enterprise Engineering Working Conference, EEWC 2016, Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal, May 30-June 3 2016, Proceedings, Springer, →ISBN, page 26:

     If both the estimated payment- and checking-rate is not above a threshold in a district, the contracted party will receive a malus for that district, and no bonus for any other district.

2. (rare) A penalty or negative thing.
   • 2016, Rosa Bottino, Johan Jeuring, Remco C. Veltkamp, Games and Learning Alliance: 5th International Conference, GALA 2016, Utrecht, The Netherlands, December 5–7, 2016, Proceedings, Springer, →ISBN, page 305:

     The driver game has a game screen with less number of properties and representations (see Fig. 3(a)). […] If the user completes a level within the allocated time, then the user gets a bonus and will be advanced to another level[,] and if user is unable to complete a level, then a malus is provided and the user gets retained in the same level.

Usage notes

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

Synonyms

• clawback

Coordinate terms

• disgorgement

Related terms

• mal
• malum
• malus genius

Etymology 2

From Latin mālus and translingual Malus.

Noun

malus (plural maluses)

1. A plant of the genus Malus (the apples).
   • 1922, Gardener’s Chronicle of America, volume 26, page 228, column 2:

     It leads to a certain extent to an evergreen type Docynia which is distributed in the Himalayas and western China and whose magnificence of bloom I learned to know on my travels in Yunnan; it is distinct from genuine maluses.

   • 1959, Gardeners Chronicle & Gardening Illustrated, volume 145, page 65, column 2:

     Malus ‘Dartmouth’ is a variety of M. pumila, the wild crab-apple, and is only one of the several maluses which offer a wider choice than the commonly planted ‘John Downie,’ lemoinei and eleyi.

   • 1968, Agriculture in Northern Ireland, volume 43, page 290:

     In gardens which are rather open and exposed, the ornamental crabs or maluses are generally less satisfactory than the cherries as flowering trees.

Synonyms

• apple

Etymology 3

Noun

malus

1. plural of malu

Anagrams

• alums, lumas, mauls, musal

Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *malos, related to Oscan mallom and mallud (“bad”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“false, bad”), cognate with Old Irish mell (“destruction”), Ancient Greek μέλεος (méleos, “idle, unhappy”), Lithuanian mẽlas (“lie”), and the first element of Ancient Greek βλάσφημος (blásphēmos, “jinx”). Alternatively, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mal- (“small”), in which case it would then be cognate with English small.

Originally associated with Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “black, dark”), but support for this is waning. Also compare Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀 (maⁱriia, “treacherous”) and Sanskrit मल (mala, “dirtiness, impurity”).

Alternative forms

• malos (Early Latin)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈma.lus/, [ˈmäɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.lus/, [ˈmäːlus]

Adjective

malus (feminine mala, neuter malum, comparative peior, superlative pessimus, adverb male); first/second-declension adjective

2. unpleasant, distressing, painful, nasty, bad

   Abī in malam crucem, malum cruciātum. ― Go away to a bad cross, bad crucifixion. [A saying referring back to a Roman army post-defeat mass fratricide/suicide act (to avoid a worse fate from the enemy victors; i.e., our own Roman engineered torture is a better fate/prospect) cited from Caesar's Gallic War Commentaries]

   Mala rēs. ― Trouble, bad business.

   Mala aetās. ― Old age.

3. unpleasant to the senses, sight, smell, taste, touch

   Mala faciēs. ― Ugly face.

4. bad, evil, wicked, mischievous

   Malus et nēquam homō. ― An evil and wicked man.

   Dolus malus. ― Deliberate deception, malice afterthought (legal language).

5. destructive, hurtful, noxious, evil

   Consuētūdō mala. ― A bad habit.

   Mala vōta, carmina susurrāre. ― To whisper evil spells, incantations.

6. unkind, hostile, abusive

   Mala verba. ― Abuses.

7. associated with bad luck, unlucky, unfavourable, unfortunate, adverse, evil

   Mala tempestās. ― Bad, unfavourable, unsuitable weather.

   Malam fāmam ferre. ― To bring bad reputation, ill fame.

   Malīs avibus. ― Under evil auspices. (literally, “Under bad birds.”)

   Reliquiae malae pugnae. ― Remnants of an unsuccessful, adverse battle.

8. poor in condition or capacity, inept

   Mala merx/mers. ― A bad lot (of persons).

   Malā mente esse. ― To be out of one's mind.

   Pessimus poēta. ― The worst poet.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

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

Synonyms

• (wicked): improbus, nēquam, malignus, scelerātus, perversus, prāvus, vitiōsus, malus, scelestus, facinorōsus
• (hurtful): nocīvus

Antonyms

• bonus, probus, rēctus, integer, castus

Derived terms

• carmen malum
• male
• maledīcō
• malefaciō
• malitās
• malum in sē

Descendants

• Asturian: malu
• Bourguignon: mal
• Champenois: mau
• Dalmatian: mul
• Friulian: mâl
• Italian: malo
• Padanian:
  • Romagnol: mêl
• Old French: mal
  • Middle French: mal
    • French: mal
      • → English: mal
• Old Occitan: mal
  • Occitan: mal
• Old Galician-Portuguese: mao
  • Galician: mao
  • Portuguese: mau (see there for further descendants)
• Romansch: mal, mel
• Sardinian: malu, malosu
• Sicilian: malu
• Spanish: mal, malo (see there for further descendants)
• → English: malus

Etymology 2

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

Alternative forms

• *mēlus (Vulgar Latin)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmaː.lus/, [ˈmäːɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.lus/, [ˈmäːlus]

Noun

mālus f (genitive mālī); second declension

2. an apple tree; specifically, a plant in the genus Malus in the family Rosaceae.

   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.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

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

Related terms

• mālum
• mēlō
• mēlopepō

Descendants

• Translingual: Malus
• Aromanian: mer
• Italian: melo
• Megleno-Romanian: mer
• Romanian: măr
• → English: malus

Etymology 3

Compare Proto-Germanic *mastaz (“rod, bar, mast”) and Middle Irish maide (“stick”). Schrijver and De Vaan tentatively reconstruct Proto-Indo-European *mh₂sd-, possibly from a root *meh₂s- shared with mās (“male”). Another possible cognate is Proto-Slavic *mostъ (“bridge”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmaː.lus/, [ˈmäːɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.lus/, [ˈmäːlus]

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.

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.22:

     nostrarum turrium altitudinem [...] commissis suarum turrium malis adaequabant

     They equaled the height of our towers [...] by the beams of their towers spliced together

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mālus	mālī
Genitive	mālī	mālōrum
Dative	mālō	mālīs
Accusative	mālum	mālōs
Ablative	mālō	mālīs
Vocative	māle	mālī

Further reading

• “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 with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• malus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], 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^[2]
• “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 and Roman 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
• “malus” on page 1069 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Malecite-Passamaquoddy

Noun

malus anim (plural malusiyik)

1. hop hornbeam, ironwood, Ostrya virginiana

References

• Francis, David A. with Leavitt, Robert R. and Apt, Margaret (2008) “malus”, in The Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Dictionary, The Passamaquoddy Language Preservation Project