English
malevolent
Malevolent comes from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- ‘to choose’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₁-1‘to choose’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*malevolent1reconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 2018malevolent1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English malevolent
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Barney Ronay, Mexico’s Hirving Lozano stuns world champions Germany for br: “Vela, Javier Hernández and Lozano switched positions with a…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*welh₁-Wiktionary, English malevolent‘to choose’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*malevolentWiktionary, English malevolentreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 2018malevolentWiktionary, English malevolent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2018, Barney Ronay, Mexico’s Hirving Lozano stuns world champions Germany for br: “Vela, Javier Hernández and Lozano switched positions with a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- ‘to choose’
will, well, volunteer, volition, voluptuous, benevolent, wale, 12 more
Today it means
adj Having or displaying ill will; wishing harm on others.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “malevolent”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- / malevolent