maleficium

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Latin

Etymology

maleficus +‎ -ium

Noun

maleficium n (genitive maleficiī or maleficī); second declension

  1. crime, misdeed, offence, evil deed, wrong, mischief
    Synonyms: peccātum, scelus, vitium, noxa, culpa, error, crīmen, facinus, iniūria, dēlictum, flāgitium, malum, dēlinquentia, commissum
    Antonyms: bonum, rēctum, virtūs
  2. injury, hurt
    Synonyms: damnum, incommoditās, dētrīmentum, calamitās, iniūria, vulnus, noxa, fraus, pauperiēs
    Antonyms: beneficium, favor
  3. fraud, deception
    Synonyms: dēceptiō, fraus, dolus, perfidia, stratēgēma, ars
  4. harmful sorcery, black magic (post-Augustinian)

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case Singular Plural
Nominative maleficium maleficia
Genitive maleficiī
maleficī1
maleficiōrum
Dative maleficiō maleficiīs
Accusative maleficium maleficia
Ablative maleficiō maleficiīs
Vocative maleficium maleficia

1Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Descendants

References

  • maleficium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • maleficium”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • maleficium 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)
  • maleficium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • to return evil for good: benefacta maleficiis pensare
    • to return good for evil: maleficia benefactis remunerari
    • to return good for evil: pro maleficiis beneficia reddere
    • his guilty conscience gives him no rest: conscientiae maleficiorum stimulant aliquem