Etymograph

English

maledicta

Maledicta comes from Latin maledictum ‘curse, insult’, and goes back to maledīcō ‘to speak ill of’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaledīcō‘to speak ill of’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaledictum‘curse, insult’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaledictaplural of maledictum
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1977same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaledīcō‘to speak ill of’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaledictum‘curse, insult’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmaledictaplural of maledictum
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1977same form

Earliest quotation: 1977, Edith Herman, *%&!$*&#-X!!!: Naughty Words — Reinhold Aman knows them all: “For 11 years now, “day and night, every Saturday…”

Every English word from Latin maledīcō

Today it means

noun Profane or blasphemous language.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin maledīcō / maledicta

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