malady

English

Etymology

From Middle English maladie, from Old French maladie (“sickness, illness, disease”), from malade (“ill, sick”), from Latin male habitus (“ill-kept, not in good condition”), 1st century AD. See also malice and habit.

Pronunciation

• enPR: măl'ə-dē, IPA^(key): /ˈmæl.ə.di/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

malady (plural maladies)

1. Any ailment or disease of the body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.
   • 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet CXVIII”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. , London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:

     As, to prevent our maladies unseen, / We sicken to shun sickness when we purge.

   • a. 1812, Joseph Stevens Buckminster, It is Good for Me, that I have been Afflicted (sermon)

     The maladies of the body may prove medicines of the mind.

2. A moral or mental defect or disorder.
   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:

     Love's a malady without a cure.

Synonyms

• ailment, disease, disorder, distemper, illness, sickness

Translations

References

• “malady”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “malady”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Middle English

Noun

malady

1. Alternative form of maladie