# mala
## English
### Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin māla (“the cheekbone, jaw”).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmeɪ.lə/
* Rhymes: -eɪlə

#### Noun

mala (plural malae)
* (zootomy)
** A single lobe of an insect's maxilla.
** The grinding surface of an insect's mandible.
** The third segment of a mandible of some myriapods.

##### Related terms

* malar

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmæl.ə/

#### Noun

mala
* plural of malum

### Etymology 3

Transliteration of Sanskrit माला (mālā, “wreath, garland, crown”).

#### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈmɑː.lɑː/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈmɑl.ɑ/

#### Noun

mala (plural malas or mala)
* (Hinduism, Sikhism) A bead or a set of beads commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or the name or names of a deity.
    Synonym: japamala
** 2021, Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness, Canongate Books (2022), page 413:His words were like beads on the string of a mala, escaping his lips in small puffs of air.

##### Further reading

* Hindu prayer beads on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Etymology 4

From Western Desert Language, as Pitjantjatjara mala.

#### Noun

mala (plural malas)
* A species of hare-wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus, of arid Australia.

### Etymology 5

Borrowed from Mandarin 麻辣 (málà)

#### Noun

mala (uncountable)
* A seasoning made from Sichuan pepper and chilis.

### References

* “mala”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
* “mala”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

### See also

* mala fide (etymologically unrelated)

### Anagrams

* amla, ALMA, alma, laam, lama, Amal, Alam, Alma, Lama, LAMA

## Asturian
### Adjective

mala
* feminine singular of malu

## Azerbaijani
### Etymology

From Persian ماله.

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Noun

mala (definite accusative malanı, plural malalar)
* stucco, plaster
    Synonym: suvaq
* plasterer's/ mason's trowel
    Synonyms: kəmçə, malakeş
* harrow
    Synonym: dırmıq

#### Derived terms

* malaçəkən
* malaçı
* malakeş
* malalamaq

### Further reading

* “mala” in Obastan.com.

## Breton
### Etymology

From Middle Breton malaff, from Old Breton maletic, from Proto-Brythonic *malɨd, from Proto-Celtic *meleti.

### Verb

mala
* to grind

## Catalan
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈma.lə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈma.la]

### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French male.

#### Noun

mala f (plural males)
* mailbag
    Synonym: cartera del correu

##### Related terms

* maleta

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Adjective

mala f sg
* feminine singular of mal

## Cebuano
### Alternative forms

* maa

### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maja, compare Bikol Central mara, Yogad maga and Tetum maran.

### Pronunciation

* Hyphenation: ma‧la
* IPA: /maˈla/ [mɐˈl̪a]

### Adjective

malá (Badlit spelling ᜋᜎ)
* dry
    Synonym: uga

## East Futuna
### Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mala, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *malaŋ.

### Noun

mala
* disaster
* misfortune

## Esperanto
### Etymology

mal- +‎ -a

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈmala]
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ala
* Hyphenation: ma‧la

### Adjective

mala (accusative singular malan, plural malaj, accusative plural malajn)
* opposite

## Faroese
### Etymology

From Old Norse mala, from Proto-Germanic *malaną.

### Verb

mala (third person singular past indicative mól, third person plural past indicative mólu, supine malið)
* to grind

#### Conjugation
## Finnish
### Etymology

From English mala, from Martu Wangka mala.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmɑlɑ/, [ˈmɑ̝lɑ̝]
* Rhymes: -ɑlɑ
* Hyphenation: ma‧la

### Noun

mala
* hare-wallaby (wallaby of the genus Lagorchestes)
* rufous hare-wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus

#### Declension

Possessive forms of mala (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
malani
malani
accusative
nom.
malani
malani
gen.
malani
genitive
malani
malojeni malaini $^{rare}$
partitive
malaani
malojani
inessive
malassani
maloissani
elative
malastani
maloistani
illative
malaani
maloihini
adessive
malallani
maloillani
ablative
malaltani
maloiltani
allative
malalleni
maloilleni
essive
malanani
maloinani
translative
malakseni
maloikseni
abessive
malattani
maloittani
instructive
comitative
—maloineni
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
malasi
malasi
accusative
nom.
malasi
malasi
gen.
malasi
genitive
malasi
malojesi malaisi $^{rare}$
partitive
malaasi
malojasi
inessive
malassasi
maloissasi
elative
malastasi
maloistasi
illative
malaasi
maloihisi
adessive
malallasi
maloillasi
ablative
malaltasi
maloiltasi
allative
malallesi
maloillesi
essive
malanasi
maloinasi
translative
malaksesi
maloiksesi
abessive
malattasi
maloittasi
instructive
comitative
—maloinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
malamme
malamme
accusative
nom.
malamme
malamme
gen.
malamme
genitive
malamme
malojemme malaimme $^{rare}$
partitive
malaamme
malojamme
inessive
malassamme
maloissamme
elative
malastamme
maloistamme
illative
malaamme
maloihimme
adessive
malallamme
maloillamme
ablative
malaltamme
maloiltamme
allative
malallemme
maloillemme
essive
malanamme
maloinamme
translative
malaksemme
maloiksemme
abessive
malattamme
maloittamme
instructive
comitative
—maloinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
malanne
malanne
accusative
nom.
malanne
malanne
gen.
malanne
genitive
malanne
malojenne malainne $^{rare}$
partitive
malaanne
malojanne
inessive
malassanne
maloissanne
elative
malastanne
maloistanne
illative
malaanne
maloihinne
adessive
malallanne
maloillanne
ablative
malaltanne
maloiltanne
allative
malallenne
maloillenne
essive
malananne
maloinanne
translative
malaksenne
maloiksenne
abessive
malattanne
maloittanne
instructive
comitative
—maloinenne
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
malansa
malansa
accusative
nom.
malansa
malansa
gen.
malansa
genitive
malansa
malojensa malainsa $^{rare}$
partitive
malaansa
malojaan malojansa
inessive
malassaan malassansa
maloissaan maloissansa
elative
malastaan malastansa
maloistaan maloistansa
illative
malaansa
maloihinsa
adessive
malallaan malallansa
maloillaan maloillansa
ablative
malaltaan malaltansa
maloiltaan maloiltansa
allative
malalleen malallensa
maloilleen maloillensa
essive
malanaan malanansa
maloinaan maloinansa
translative
malakseen malaksensa
maloikseen maloiksensa
abessive
malattaan malattansa
maloittaan maloittansa
instructive
comitative
—maloineen maloinensa :

#### Synonyms

* (hare-wallaby): jäniskenguru (dated)
* (rufous hare-wallaby): lännenjäniskenguru (dated)

#### Derived terms
##### compounds

* harmaamala
* pikkumala
* ruskomala

## Galician
### Adjective

mala
* feminine singular of malo

## Garo
### Verb

mala
* to crawl

## Hawaiian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈma.la/, [ˈmɐ.lə]

### Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *mala, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *malaŋ.

#### Verb

mala
* (intransitive) bruised
* aching (as after unaccustomed exercise)
* stiff and sore

##### Derived terms

* hoʻomala
* mamala

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *mara.

#### Verb

mala
* (stative) sour (as fermented sweet potatoes)
* (stative) insipid

### References

* Pukui, Mary Kawena, Elbert, Samuel H. (1986) “mala”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press

## Icelandic
### Etymology

From Old Norse mala, from Proto-Germanic *malaną.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmaːla/
* Rhymes: -aːla

### Verb

mala (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative malaði, supine malað)
* to grind
    Synonyms: mylja, steyta
    Hættu að mala kornið!Stop grinding the corn!
* to purr
    Oo, hlustiði á köttinn mala.Oh, listen to the cat purr.
* to blabber, babble, talk
    Synonyms: babla, masa, þvæla, blaðra
    Hann hættir bara ekki að mala.He just won't stop babbling!

#### Derived terms

* mölun
* mal

## Ido
### Adjective

mala
* bad

#### Antonyms

* bona

#### Derived terms

* maleso

## Indonesian
### Etymology

From Malay mala, from Classical Malay mala, from Pali mala, from Sanskrit मल (mala).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [mala]
* Hyphenation: ma‧la

### Adjective

mala
* (obsolete) dirty, impurity
* (dated) withered, faded
    Synonyms: layu, merana

### Noun

mala
* (dated) disease
    Synonym: penyakit
* (dated) disaster
    Synonyms: bahala, bahaya, bencana, cobaan, dakiat, keapesan, kecelakaan, kegagalan, kemaharan, kemalangan, kemudaratan, kerugian, kesialan, malapetaka, mara

### Further reading

* “mala” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Irish
### Alternative forms

* malaidh, malaigh, malainn

### Etymology

From Old Irish mala, from Proto-Celtic *malaxs, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥Hdʰo-, shared with Breton malvenn, Old English molda (“forehead”), Ancient Greek βλωθρός (blōthrós, “lofty”), Avestan 𐬐𐬀-𐬨𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬜𐬋 (ka-mər$^ə$δō, “demon's head”).

### Pronunciation

* (Munster) IPA: /ˈmˠɑl̪ˠə/
* (Connacht) IPA: /ˈmˠalˠə/, /ˈmˠal̪ˠə/
* (Ulster) IPA: /ˈmˠɔlˠi/, /ˈmˠɔl̪ˠi/ (as if spelled molaidh)

### Noun

mala f (genitive singular mala, nominative plural malaí)
* eyebrow
* brow (projecting upper edge of a steep place such as a hill)
* slope, incline

#### Declension

bare forms
case
singular
plural
nominative
mala
malaí
vocative
a mhala
a mhalaí
genitive
mala
malaí
dative
mala
malaí
forms with the definite article
case
singular
plural
nominative
an mhala
na malaí
genitive
na mala
na malaí
dative
leis an mala don mhala
leis na malaí :

#### Derived terms

* mala púiceach (“beetle brow”)

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### References

* ↑ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 46

### Further reading

* Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “mala”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
* Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “mala”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
* MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “mala”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎, Stirling, →ISBN

## Italian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈma.la/
* Rhymes: -ala
* Hyphenation: mà‧la

### Noun

mala f (plural male)
* underworld, gangland

### Anagrams

* alma, lama

## Javanese
### Romanization

mala
* Romanization of ꦩꦭ

## Kashubian
### Etymology

Deverbal from malowac.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈma.la/
* Rhymes: -ala
* Syllabification: ma‧la

### Noun

mala f
* (Canada) paint

### Further reading

* Stanislow Frymark (2020) “mala”, in Kashubian Language in Canada, the USA and New Zealand; Lexical Interferences in Kashubian Language in Canada, the USA and New Zealand, Zómk Zôbòrsczi, →ISBN

## Latin
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *smakslā, from Proto-Indo-European *smeḱ- (“beard”) as *smḱ- (“beard”) +‎ *-sleh₂-; cognate with Sanskrit श्मश्रु (śmaśru, “beard”)).

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈmaː.la/, [ˈmäːɫ̪ä]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈma.la/, [ˈmäːlä]

#### Noun

māla f (genitive mālae); first declension
* (anatomy) the cheekbone, jaw
* (transferred sense, chiefly in the plural) a cheek
** c. 190 BCE – 185 BCE, Plautus, Amphitryon 1.1:Tam consimile'st atque ego: sūra, pēs, statūra, tōnsus, oculī, nāsus, vel labra, mālae, mentum, barba, collum - tōtus!He's so similar to me: his calves, feet, height, haircut, eyes, nose, lips, cheeks, chin, beard, neck - all of it!

##### Inflection

First-declension noun.

##### Derived terms

* mālāris (adjective)
* māxilla (diminutive)

##### Descendants

* → English: mala
* → English: malar

#### References

* “mala”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “mala”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “mala”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive
* mala 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)
* mala in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co. (ambiguous) to be broken down by misfortune: in malis iacere (ambiguous) to be hard pressed by misfortune: malis urgeri (ambiguous) to have a good or bad reputation, be spoken well, ill of: bona, mala existimatio est de aliquo (ambiguous) moral science; ethics: philosophia, in qua de bonis rebus et malis, deque hominum vita et moribus disputatur (ambiguous) to take a thing in good (bad) part: in bonam (malam) partem accipere aliquid (ambiguous) a guilty conscience: conscientia mala or peccatorum, culpae, sceleris, delicti (ambiguous) to be tormented by remorse: conscientia mala angi, excruciari (ambiguous) to bless (curse) a person: precari alicui bene (male) or omnia bona (mala), salutem (ambiguous) from beginning to end: ab ovo usque ad mala (proverb.)
* “mala”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

### Etymology 2

Borrowing from Frankish *malha (“leather bag”).

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈma.la/, [ˈmäɫ̪ä]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈma.la/, [ˈmäːlä]

#### Noun

mala f (genitive malae); first declension
* a bundle, bag
* This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes then please add them!

##### Inflection

First-declension noun.

##### Descendants

* Old French: male, malle
** Anglo-Norman: male
*** → Middle English: male
**** English: mail
**** Scots: mail
*** →? Irish: mála (or perhaps via English)
** Middle French: malle
*** → Catalan: mala
*** French: malle
*** → Portuguese: mala
*** → Spanish: mala
** Gallo: mol
** Walloon: male (Forrières)

### Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Pronunciation

* mala: (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈma.la/, [ˈmäɫ̪ä]
* mala: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈma.la/, [ˈmäːlä]
* malā: (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈma.laː/, [ˈmäɫ̪äː]
* malā: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈma.la/, [ˈmäːlä]

#### Adjective

mala
* inflection of malus:
** nominative/vocative/ablative feminine singular
** nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

### Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈma.la/, [ˈmäɫ̪ä]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈma.la/, [ˈmäːlä]

#### Noun

mala n
* nominative/accusative/vocative plural of malum

## Latvian
### Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ml̥Hdʰo-, see also Breton malvenn, Old English molda (“forehead”), Ancient Greek βλωθρός (blōthrós, “lofty”), Avestan 𐬐𐬀-𐬨𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬜𐬋 (ka-mər$^ə$δō, “demon's head”).
(Can this etymology be sourced?)

### Noun

mala f (4th declension)
* edge, shore

#### Derived terms

* jūrmala
* mežmala

### Verb

mala
* third-person singular/plural present indicative of malt

### Further reading

* MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “mala”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎, Stirling, →ISBN, page mala

## Lithuanian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈmä̌ːlɐ]

### Verb

mãla
* third-person singular present of malti
* third-person plural present of malti

## Lovono
### Noun

mala
* eye

### References

* Alexandre François, The languages of Vanikoro: three lexicons and one grammar

## Margi
### Noun

mala
* woman

### References

* Carl Hoffmann, A grammar of the Margi language (1963)

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Alternative forms

* male

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /²mɑːlɑ/

### Etymology 1

From Old Norse mala, from Proto-Germanic *malaną.

#### Verb

mala (present tense mel, past tense mol, supine male, past participle malen, present participle malande, imperative mal)
* (transitive) to grind
* (intransitive) to make a grinding sound, e.g. to purr (of a cat)

### Etymology 2
#### Verb

mala (present tense malar, past tense mala, past participle mala, passive infinitive malast, present participle malande, imperative mala/mal)
* (pre-2012) alternative form of måla, to paint

### References

* “mala” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Old Javanese
### Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit मल (mala).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ma.la/
* Rhymes: -la
* Homophone: mālā
* Hyphenation: ma‧la

### Noun

mala
* dirt, filth
* impurity
* stain
* defect
* sin

#### Derived terms

* kamalan
* mamala
* daśamala
* durmala
* sarwamala
* trimala
* wimala

#### Descendants

* Javanese: ꦩꦭ (mala)

### Further reading

* "mala" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

## Old Norse
### Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *malaną, whence also Old Saxon malan, Old High German malan, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌽 (malan).

### Verb

mala (singular past indicative mól, plural past indicative mólu, past participle malinn)
* to grind
* to make a grinding sound, e.g. to purr (of a cat)

#### Descendants

* Icelandic: mala
* Faroese: mala
* Norwegian: male
* Old Swedish: mala
** Swedish: mala
* Danish: male

### Further reading

* “mala”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “mala”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “mala”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive
* mala 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)
* Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co. (ambiguous) to be broken down by misfortune: in malis iacere (ambiguous) to be hard pressed by misfortune: malis urgeri (ambiguous) to have a good or bad reputation, be spoken well, ill of: bona, mala existimatio est de aliquo (ambiguous) moral science; ethics: philosophia, in qua de bonis rebus et malis, deque hominum vita et moribus disputatur (ambiguous) to take a thing in good (bad) part: in bonam (malam) partem accipere aliquid (ambiguous) a guilty conscience: conscientia mala or peccatorum, culpae, sceleris, delicti (ambiguous) to be tormented by remorse: conscientia mala angi, excruciari (ambiguous) to bless (curse) a person: precari alicui bene (male) or omnia bona (mala), salutem (ambiguous) from beginning to end: ab ovo usque ad mala (proverb.)
* “mala”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly

## Old Swedish
### Etymology

From Old Norse mala, from Proto-Germanic *malaną.

### Verb

mala
* to grind

#### Descendants

* Swedish: mala

## Pali
### Alternative forms

* 𑀫𑀮 (Brahmi script)
* मल (Devanagari script)
* মল (Bengali script)
* මල (Sinhalese script)
* မလ (Burmese script)
* มล or มะละ (Thai script)
* ᨾᩃ (Tai Tham script)
* ມລ or ມະລະ (Lao script)
* មល (Khmer script)
* 𑄟𑄣 (Chakma script)

### Noun

mala n
* impurity
* stain
* rust
* dirt
* dung

#### Declension
## Pitjantjatjara
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈmɐlɐ]

### Noun

mala
* rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus)

### References

* Paul A. Eckert (2007) Pitjantjatjara / Yankunytjatjara Picture Dictionary‎, IAD Press, →ISBN

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Borrowed from French malle (“large suitcase; trunk”), from Middle French malle, from Old French male (“leather bag, leather or wooden travel-case”), from Frankish *malha (“leather bag”), from Proto-Germanic *malhō (“leather bag”), from Proto-Indo-European *molko- (“leather bag”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈma.lɐ/
* Rhymes: -alɐ
* Hyphenation: ma‧la

### Noun

mala f (plural malas)
* suitcase
* (travel) luggage
* (automotive) boot, trunk
* (chiefly Portugal) handbag
    Synonyms: bolsa, maleta, saco

### Noun

mala m or f by sense (plural malas)
* (Brazil, idiomatic) an irritating person

### References

* “mala”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
* “mala”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Pukapukan
### Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mala, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *malaŋ.

### Verb

mala
* (stative) be unlucky, unfortunate
* to have bad luck

### Further reading

* Pukapuka Dictionary

## Romanian
### Etymology

Ottoman Turkish ماله (mala), from Persian ماله (mâle).

### Noun

mala f (plural malale)
* trowel

#### Declension
## Samoan
### Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mala, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *malaŋ.

### Noun

mala
* calamity

## Scottish Gaelic
### Etymology

From Old Irish mala, from Proto-Celtic *malax, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥Hdʰo-, see also Breton malvenn, Old English molda (“forehead”), Ancient Greek βλωθρός (blōthrós, “lofty”), Avestan 𐬐𐬀-𐬨𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬜𐬋 (ka-mər$^ə$δō, “demon's head”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmãl̪ˠə/, [ˈmɑ̃l̪ˠə]

### Noun

mala f (genitive singular mala, plural malaichean or malaidhean)
* brow
** (anatomy) eyebrow
** (geography, of hill) brow; slope, incline

#### Usage notes

* The plural is mailghean in Argyll.

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### References

* ↑ Oftedal, M. (1956) A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap

### Further reading

* Edward Dwelly (1911) “mala”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎, 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
* Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “mala”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
* MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “mala”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎, Stirling, →ISBN

## Serbo-Croatian
### Adjective

mala
* inflection of mal:
** feminine nominative/vocative singular
** indefinite masculine/neuter genitive singular
** indefinite animate masculine accusative singular
** neuter nominative/accusative/vocative plural

## Sicilian
### Etymology

From Latin malus.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈma.la/
* Hyphenation: mà‧la

### Adjective

mala f sg
* feminine singular of malu; bad.

#### Inflection

| | Masculine | Feminine |
| Singular | malu | mala |
| Plural | mali | mali |

## Slovak
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈmala]

### Participle

mala
* feminine singular l-participle of mať

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmala/ [ˈma.la]
* Rhymes: -ala
* Syllabification: ma‧la

### Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Noun

mala f (plural malas)
* female equivalent of malo

#### Adjective

mala f
* feminine singular of malo

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from French malle (“large suitcase; trunk”), from Middle French malle, from Old French male (“leather bag, leather or wooden travel-case”), from Frankish *malha (“leather bag”), from Proto-Germanic *malhō (“leather bag”), from Proto-Indo-European *molko- (“leather bag”).

#### Noun

mala f (plural malas)
* suitcase
    Synonyms: maleta, valija
* mailbag
    Synonyms: saca de correos, saca postal, valija
* mail, post
    Synonym: correo

#### Further reading

* “mala”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swedish
### Etymology

From Old Swedish mala, from Old Norse mala, from Proto-Germanic *malaną.

### Verb

mala (present mal, preterite malde, supine malt, imperative mal)
* to grind (crush into small particles)
* (sometimes with på) to speak ceaselessly, usually about one single subject
* to go on incessantly (more generally, of thoughts, pain, or the like)

#### Usage notes

An alternative form for the present tense is maler, and an alternative form for the past participle (which is only used in the sense of grinding) is malen.

#### Derived terms

* finmalen (“finely ground”)
* grovmalen (“coarsely ground”)
* varken hackat eller malet

#### Related terms

* malström

### References

* mala in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* mala in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* mala in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

### Anagrams

* Alma, lama

## Tokelauan
### Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mala. Cognates include Hawaiian mala and Samoan mala.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈma.la]
* Hyphenation: ma‧la

### Noun

mala
* misfortune, bad luck
* disaster, tragedy
* plague, epidemic

### Verb

mala
* (stative) to be unlucky
* (intransitive) to bring bad luck

### Further reading

* R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎, Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 209

## Tongan
### Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mala, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *malaŋ.

### Noun

mala
* misfortune, bad luck
* disaster

## Turkish
### Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ماله (mala), itself from Persian ماله (mâle, “trowel”).

### Noun

mala (definite accusative malayı, plural malalar)
* trowel, a plasterer's tool used in spreading and dressing mortar

#### Derived terms

* malalamak

#### Further reading

* Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “mala1”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 3034
* Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “mala”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

## Tuvaluan
### Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mala, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *malaŋ.

### Noun

mala
* plague

## Wolof
### Noun

mala (definite form mala mi)
* animal