μαλακός

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *məlakos, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥h₂ekos, from *melh₂- (“soft”).

Cognate with Old Irish malcad (“rottenness, putrefaction”), Proto-Germanic *malskaz, Sanskrit मूर्ख (mūrkha, “stupid, foolish, silly, dull”). Compare μαλθακός (malthakós). Distantly cognate with dialectal English masker.

Pronunciation

Adjective

μᾰλᾰκός • (malakós) m (feminine μᾰλᾰκή, neuter μᾰλᾰκόν); first/second declension

1. soft, tender

   Synonym: ἁπαλός (hapalós)

2. gentle
   1. light, mild
3. (of persons, modes of life) soft, mild, gentle
   1. (in a bad sense) soft, yielding, remiss
      1. faint-hearted, effeminate, cowardly
      2. incapable of bearing pain
      3. (of music) soft, effeminate
      4. (of reasoning) weak, loose
4. effeminate

   Synonym: σᾰβᾰκός (sabakós)

5. (of sexual partners) passive; receptive

Inflection

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “soft”): σκληρός (sklērós)
• (antonym(s) of “incapable of bearing pain”): καρτερικός (karterikós)

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Coptic: ⲙⲁⲗⲁⲕⲟⲥ (malakos)
• → English: malaco-
• → French: malaco-
• Greek: μαλακός (malakós)
• → Italian: malaco-

Noun

μᾰλᾰκός • (malakós) m (genitive μᾰλᾰκοῦ); second declension

1. A person who is soft or gentle
2. A person who is morally weak; a degenerate
3. (sexual) bottom; sub

Inflection

Further reading

• “μαλακός”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μαλακός”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “μαλακός”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• μαλακός in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• μαλακός in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “μαλακός”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G3120 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • balmy idem, page 60.
  • be comfortable, v. idem, page 66.
  • cowardly idem, page 181.
  • dainty idem, page 193.
  • delicate idem, page 207.
  • effeminate idem, page 262.
  • exquisite idem, page 296.
  • feeble idem, page 313.
  • gentle idem, page 357.
  • infirm idem, page 438.
  • invertebrate idem, page 457.
  • languid idem, page 475.
  • languishing idem, page 476.
  • lifeless idem, page 489.
  • limp idem, page 492.
  • luxurious idem, page 506.
  • maudlin idem, page 518.
  • meek idem, page 522.
  • mild idem, page 529.
  • negligent idem, page 555.
  • nerveless idem, page 556.
  • remiss idem, page 693.
  • sentimental idem, page 754.
  • slack idem, page 782.
  • smooth idem, page 788.
  • soft idem, page 791.
  • supine idem, page 840.
  • tender idem, page 861.
  • timid idem, page 876.
  • unmanly idem, page 925.
  • unresisting idem, page 929.
  • voluptuous idem, page 957.
  • weak idem, page 969.
  • womanish idem, page 986.
  • yielding idem, page 996.

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μαλακός (malakós).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.laˈkos/
• Hyphenation: μα‧λα‧κός

Adjective

μαλακός • (malakós) m (feminine μαλακή or μαλακιά, neuter μαλακό)

1. soft
2. meek, compliant
3. gentle, mild, mild-mannered, mellow
4. (metallurgy) malleable

Declension

Related terms

• μαλακά (malaká, “gently”)