malefactor

English

Alternative forms

• malefactour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English malefactour, from Late Latin malefactor, from Latin malefaciō, from male (“evilly”) + factus (“made or done”), past participle of facio (“I make or do”).

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: măʹləfăk'tər, IPA^(key): /ˈmæləˌfæktɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

malefactor (plural malefactors)

1. A criminal or felon.
2. An evildoer.
   • 2013, Kazerad, Katia: Try a few more things, in: Prequel -or- Making a Cat Cry: The Adventure (webcomic), April 23 2013

     Though your unseen malefactor’s actions may give the impression of confidence… Vaermina suspects he is terrified his plan will go astray.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:criminal
• See also Thesaurus:villain

Antonyms

• benefactor

Related terms

• maleficent

Translations

criminal — see criminal

felon — see felon

evildoer

• Arabic: شِرِّير (ar) m (širrīr)
• Belarusian: зламы́снік m (zlamýsnik), зламы́сніца f (zlamýsnica), ліхадзе́й m (lixadzjéj), ліхадзе́йка f (lixadzjéjka)
• Bulgarian: злосто́рник (bg) m (zlostórnik), злосто́рница f (zlostórnica), злоде́й (bg) m (zlodéj), злоде́йка f (zlodéjka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 壞人 / 坏人 (zh) (huàirén), 惡人 / 恶人 (zh) (èrén)

• Esperanto: aĉfaranto m, malbonfaranto
• French: malfaiteur (fr) m, malfaitrice (fr) f
• German: Übeltäter (de) m, Übeltäterin (de) f, Malefaktor m
• Greek:

  Ancient: κακοῦργος m (kakoûrgos)

• Icelandic: illvirki (is) m
• Irish: bithiúnach m
• Italian: malfattore (it) m, malfattrice (it) f
• Japanese: 悪人 (ja) (あくにん, akunin, わろびと, warubito)
• Korean: 악인(惡人) (ko) (agin)
• Latin: malefactor m
• Macedonian: зло́сторник m (zlóstornik), зло́чинец m (zlóčinec)
• Mauritian Creole: malfeter
• Persian: بدکار (fa) (badkâr)
• Polish: złoczyńca (pl) m
• Portuguese: malfeitor (pt) m, malfeitora (pt) f
• Romanian: răufăcător (ro) m, răufăcătoare (ro) f
• Russian: злоумы́шленник (ru) m (zloumýšlennik), злоумы́шленница (ru) f (zloumýšlennica), злоде́й (ru) m (zlodéj), злоде́йка (ru) f (zlodéjka)
• Scottish Gaelic: eucoireach m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: зло̏твор m

  Roman: zlȍtvor (sh) m

• Spanish: malhechor (es) m, malhechora (es) f
• Ukrainian: зловми́сник m (zlovmýsnyk), зловми́сниця f (zlovmýsnycja), лиході́й m (lyxodíj), лиході́йка f (lyxodíjka)

Latin

Etymology

From malefaciō +‎ -tor, corresponding to male (“evilly”) + factor (“maker”). Used in Old Latin by Plautus and then more commonly in Late Latin.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ma.leˈfak.tor/, [mäɫ̪ɛˈfäkt̪ɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ma.leˈfak.tor/, [mäleˈfäkt̪or]

Noun

malefactor m (genitive malefactōris); third declension

1. wrongdoer, evildoer, malefactor, villain

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	malefactor	malefactōrēs
genitive	malefactōris	malefactōrum
dative	malefactōrī	malefactōribus
accusative	malefactōrem	malefactōrēs
ablative	malefactōre	malefactōribus
vocative	malefactor	malefactōrēs

Antonyms

• benefactor

Descendants

• Asturian: malfechor
• French: malfaiteur
• Friulian: malfatôr
• Galician: malfeitor
• Italian: malfattore
• Old Catalan: malfaytor
• Portuguese: malfeitor
• Sicilian: malfatturi
• Spanish: malhechor
• → Catalan: malfactor
• → English: malefactor

References

• “malefactor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• malefactor 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)
• malefactor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.