Malefaction

[Dr. Goodword]

• malefaction •

Pronunciation: mæ-lê-fæk-shên • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A malicious act, a bad or evil deed.

Notes: Today's Good Word is the antonym of benefaction "a good deed". Just as benefaction comes with a regular personal noun, benefactor, and an odd adjective, beneficial, so comes malefaction with a normal personal noun, malefactor, and an irregular adjective, malefic, as 'malefic spell'. (Maleficial is now considered obsolete.)

In Play: This word is probably used more in reference to crimes: "When Izzie Badenoff was apprehended, he confessed to far more malefactions than he was suspected of." However, any bad act qualifies for today's Good Word: "Kitty, pulling your pigtail once isn't severe enough malefaction to justify punishing your brother to the extent you are suggesting." By the time she looks up today's Good Word in a dictionary, this minor malefaction will be forgotten.

Word History: Today's word, as is often the case, comes from Latin malefactio, malefactionis "evil deed, evil-doing", the action noun of malefacere "to do evil" + a noun suffix. This word is a compound verb made up of malus "bad" + facere "to make, do". PIE mel- "false, bad, wrong" seems not to have flourished in any Indo-European languages aside from Latin. We see it in many words, however, that English borrowed from that language, for example malice, malady, malaria. The PIE word behind facere, dhe "to put, to do", on the other hand, has made it on its own into many IE languages, including English as do and deed, Russian as delat' "do, make" and Greek as thema "that which is placed or laid down". (It would be a malefaction were we to forget to thank George Kovac for recommending today's Good Word, even if it has a bad meaning.)

[LukeJavan8]

and "Maleficent" is Disney's latest bad lady.

[George Kovac]

<<and "Maleficent" is Disney's latest bad lady.>>

Excellent association...and you have to give credit to the Disney writers for their sophistication in choice of name.

"Maleficent" made me think of a ludicrous invented name on the other end of the malediction--benefaction spectrum.

I attended Catholic grade school in Chicago way back when all the teachers were nuns and the nuns wore large fussy habits and wimples. Those poor maligned nuns have provided raw material for generations of sketch comedy in Chicago, all the way from Second City revues to the long-running production of "Nunsense." Funny names chosen by the nuns are often the butt of jokes in those sketches. Actually the number of funny names, in my experience, was limited, but my favorite from real life was "Sister Benigna." Sounds awful to the ear; that "g" is cacophonous. Only years later, as an adult, did I realize the name must have been an attempt to force "benign" (or some Latin variant thereof) into the form of a feminine name, suitable for a woman who devoted her life to becoming a vessel of God's beneficence.

May God have mercy on Sister Beniga, and all her students (now oldsters themselves) who still chuckle at the name.

[damoge]

It takes no great brain power (thank goodness) to go from "dhe" to "do" and "deed", but how does one get from "dhe" to "facere"?

[Slava]

I get the feeling that Sister Benigna, at least as spelled and compared to the pronunciation of benign, was hinting at another thought, one rather far less than benign.

[George Kovac]

<<I get the feeling that Sister Benigna, at least as spelled and compared to the pronunciation of benign, was hinting at another thought, one rather far less than benign.>>

Shrewd, and sly, observation, Slava. Thanks.

I never had Sister Benigna for class, and so I know little of the nature of that woman other than her funny name.

Most of the nuns of that era were earnest, hardworking, of modest intellectual abilities, overwhelmed, and naive--decent, sequacious women who were not bad people. But some were like the malicious women portrayed in movies like "The Magdalene Sisters" and "Philomena." A cruel few were truly benighted, and, as Slava coyly hints, therein may lie the true etymology of Sister Benigna's curious and perhaps artful name.

[LukeJavan8]

Only years later, as an adult, did I realize the name must have been an attempt to force "benign" (or some Latin variant thereof) into the form of a feminine name, suitable for a woman who devoted her life to becoming a vessel of God's beneficence.
(gkovac)

We had a similarly named sister, Sister Mary Benigna Consolata.
Imagine writing that on your report cards.

[LukeJavan8]

The nuns I had were less colorful in name, but not in
real life: Isabella, Albertina, Alvin, Emmet, Theresina, Mildred,
Georgine, Andrea, Phillip, and Moira. Funny how you can
remember them all.

[damoge]

one nun per year? but surely, they didn't go away... so you were constantly reminded, no?

[Philip Hudson]

In the strictly segregated hinterlands of my youth, it was strictly verboten to go where there might be a nun. Verboten by the Roman Catholics, that is. In my later life experience, many people have blamed the harshness of the teaching nuns for their leaving the Roman Catholic Church. Having had no such experience, I don't really know.

I delight in the depiction of Anglican nuns in the PBS program, The Midwife, they seem such real and devoted people.

The openness of different Christian traditions in dealing with one another today is a remarkable change from the recent past.

[LukeJavan8]

We had a very challenged girl in class. One day the nun
held out her own hand and made the girl hit it with a
wooden ruler until it broke. Slowed the girl down some.

Yup, one nun per year, except in grade five, the nun
left at Chistmas, probably left the nunnery, and was
replaced by Mildred. Talk about Maleficent. The last
two were principals.

[damoge]

Then that takes you through grade nine, right? What happened for high school?
maleficent is so mellifluent, too bad...

[LukeJavan8]

Actually grade eight. High School was boys boarding
school.

[Philip Hudson]

What a sheltered live, Luke. I was thrown into the cruel cold world of a country school at a tender age. I was so scared that I could hardly breathe.

[LukeJavan8]

The cold cruel world came when I passed from my
20's to 30's, could not deal with life, and made
many mistakes. But life is good now.