mava

See also: mává, måva, and māvā

Esperanto

Etymology

From French mauvais.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmava]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ava
• Hyphenation: ma‧va

Adjective

mava (accusative singular mavan, plural mavaj, accusative plural mavajn)

1. (literary) bad, wrong
   • 1999, Jorge Camacho, “La mava lingvo”, in Lingva arto:

     Mavajn neologismojn ili anatemas imite la metodojn de la afganaj taliboj, krom se la koncerna radiko venas el la japana, la tamazirta aŭ la ĉiapa, ĉar plia kaj tre moda ingrediento de lingva simplismo estas la strebo al ia esperanto statistike internacia.

     They consider evil neologisms anathema in imitation of the methods of the Afghan Taliban, unless the root in question comes from Japanese, Tamazight or Chiapa, because a fashionable new ingredient of linguistic simplism is striving for a sort of statistically international Esperanto.

   • 1999, Valentin Melnikov, “Kelkaj konsiloj por plibonigi stilon”, in La Ondo de Esperanto:

     Se via verko estos hiperplena da redundaj neologismoj, ĝi aspektos turpe kaj hide, kaj oni etikedos ĝin mava.

     If your work is hyperloaded with redundant neologisms, it will look filthy and hideous, and people will label it bad.

   • 2015, Gabriel García Marquez, translated by Fernando de Diego, Cent jaroj de soleco:

     "La mava sorto ne havas breĉojn" - li diris kun profunda amaro. "Mi naskiĝis putinido kaj mortos putinido."

     "Bad luck has no gaps" - he said with deep bitterness. "I was born a son of a bitch and I'll die a son of a bitch."

   • 2017 June 23, Frans Cobben, “Kiun adoras mava Mamono? kurta poemo”, in soc.culture.esperanto‎^[1] (Usenet):

     Kiun adoras mava Mamono / en Esperantujo?

     Who does bad Mamono worship / in Esperantujo?

Usage notes

This is a word that frequently draws the ire of people who oppose unofficial synonyms for official words, which they somewhat imprecisely label neologisms. As such, its use often carries an ironic sense (as in the quotations above by Jorge Camacho and Valentin Melnikov), though it is also used simply as a synonym for malbona (as in the other two quotations).

Synonyms

• malbona

Antonyms

• bona (“good”)

Hyponyms

• aĉa (“of poor quality”)
• fia (“vile”)
• malica (“evil, malicious”)
• misa (“failed, wrong, amiss”)