Words Too Easily Confused, Set Seven Quiz

Answer: Malediction

"War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace." ~Gen. William T. Sherman.

The word "malediction" entered English from the Old French "maledicion" meaning a curse. It, in turn, derived from the Latin 'maledictio" meaning to speak ill of or to slander.

Answer: Malacca

"Dry and spare, as lean as a jockey and as tough as whipcord, he might be seen any day swinging his silver-headed Malacca cane, and pacing along the suburban roads with the same measured gait with which he had been wont to tread the poop of his flagship." ~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "Beyond the City."

Malacca is a place: a state in Malaysia, a city in Malaysia, and a strait. Malacca is also the stem of the rattan palm which is harvested and used to make walking sticks, umbrella handles and the like.

Answer: Malefactor

"And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left." ~Luke 23:32-33, Authorized (King James) Version.

Malefactor appears in English from the middle 15th Century on. It derives from the Latin "malefacere" meaning to do evil. The Latin verb is a compound of "male" meaning badly and "fecere" meaning to do, perform, or make.

Answer: Malleable

"The world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape." ~ Bono.

The English adjective carrying the sense of that which can be hammered into a desired shape is taken directly from the Medieval Latin "malleabilis" which means to beat with a hammer. Used for many centuries to describe metals, the figurative use of it to describe persons who can be molded appears in the early 17th Century.

Answer: Malevolence

"The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding."
~Albert Camus.

The noun malevolence entered English from the Middle French in the 15th Century. The French derived the word from the Latin "malevolentia" meaning hatred.

Answer: Malacosoma

"Malacosoma is a genus of moths in the family Lasiocampidae." ~James R. Meeker.

The two common species of tent caterpillar in the US are Malacosoma americanum (the Eastern tent caterpillar) and Malacosoma californicum (the Western tent caterpillar).

Answer: Malecón

"It makes no sense for me to return to Cuba in body, but not in soul. It serves no purpose for them to allow me in, but not my books. I am what I write; what I think; what I do. I cannot return peacefully if all those things can't accompany me. It makes no sense for me to abandon them now, to betray them (and myself), in exchange for a stroll down the Malecón." ~Juan Manuel Cao, Cuban author and journalist, El Nuevo Herald, 7/23/15.

In Spanish-speaking countries and especially in Latin America, the Malecón is a stone and concrete esplanade or embankment along a waterfront. Strolling the paved walkway is a popular pastime. Some are the sites of public art or of street performers or vendors.

Answer: Mallet

"I want to feel myself in you when you taste food,
in the arc of your mallet when you work,
when you visit friends, when you go
up on the roof by yourself at night."
~Rumi, The Love Poems.

The noun "mallet" entered English from the Old French in the late 14th Century with the meaning "a small wooden hammer." It derived from the Latin "malleus" meaning hammer.

Answer: Malabsorption

"Intestinal malabsorption could have been triggered by parasitic infections." ~Dr. Sundardas D. Annamalay

Malabsorption occurs when the intestine fails to absorb proteins or fats or carbohydrates or vitamins or minerals or some combination thereof. The term has been used in English since 1879. It was compounded from the Latin "mal", meaning ill, poorly or incorrectly and "absorptio", meaning to swallow up.

Answer: Malasada

Hawaiian pidgin: "Ho, Tutu's malasadas so ono, brok da mout." (English translation: Amazing! Grandmother's malasadas are so delicious they will break your mouth.)

From the Portuguese mal assada (poorly cooked or under cooked) comes the delightful deep-fried dough balls called malasadas. They are basically coated in granulated sugar. Non-purists glaze them and fill them with custards and such. They are Mardi Gras food in Roman Catholic countries. They are extremely popular in Hawaii year 'round.