n. Evil; disease.n. A prefix of Latin origin, through French (equivalent to dys- or caco- of Greek origin), meaning ‘bad,’ and implying usually imperfection or deficiency, and often simply a negative, as in malodor, a bad odor, malfeasance, bad- or wrong-doing, malformation, imperfect shape, maladroit, not adroit, malcontent, not content, etc. The prefix in this form occurs only in words taken from the French, or formed upon the analogies of such.n. An abbreviationn. of Malachi, a book of the Old Testament;n. of Malayan.