LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

māla1

māla f (genitive mālae)
Classical[ˈmaː.ɫa]Ecclesiastical[ˈmaː.la]

Meaning

  1. the cheekbone, jaw
  2. in pluralthe cheeks
    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!c. 190 BCE – 185 BCE, Plautus, Amphitruo 443–445

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemālamālae
genitivemālaemālārum
dativemālaemālīs
accusativemālammālās
ablativemālāmālīs
vocativemālamālae

māla, ae, f. mando, like scala, from scando,
I. the cheek-bone, jaw; in the stricter anatomical sense, the upper bones of the face, between the eyes, nose, and mouth, in which the teeth are fixed (usually in plur.): maxilla est mobile os. Malae cum toto osse, quod superiores dentes excipit, immobiles sunt, Cels. 8, 1: dentium pars maxillae, pars superiori ossi malarum haeret, id. ib.: ut meos malis miser manderem natos, Poët. ap. Cic. de Or. 3, 58, 215; Lucr. 2, 638: ambesas subigat malis absumere mensas, Verg. A. 3, 257.—Of the dog, Verg. A. 12, 755; of the horse, id. G. 3, 268; of the wolf, id. A. 11, 681; of the lion: horribilique malā, Hor. C. 2, 19, 23.—
II. Transf., the corresponding external part of the face, a cheek (mostly in plur.): infra oculos malae homini tantum, quas prisci genas vocabant Pudoris haec sedes: ibi maxime ostenditur rubor, Plin. 11, 37, 58, § 157: pugno malam si tibi percussero mox, Plaut. As. 2, 2, 104; id. Mil. 2, 5, 35: feri malam illi rursum, slap his cheek again, id. Cas. 2, 6, 55: (juventas) molli vestit lanugine malas, Lucr. 5, 889; Ov. M. 12, 391; Verg. A. 10, 324: impubes, id. ib. 9, 751: tenerae, Ov. M. 13, 753: Quod Aulo Agerio a Numerio Negidio pugno mala percussa est, Vet. Form. in Mos. et Rom. Leg. Coll. 2, 7, 4: paucae sine vulnere malae, Juv. 15, 54.

Origins

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

Descendants
  • Englishmala
  • Englishmalar
noun · femininefirst declension
mala2
mala f (genitive malae)
Classical[ˈma.ɫa]Ecclesiastical[ˈmaː.la]

Meaning

  1. femininea bundle, bag

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemalamalae
genitivemalaemalārum
dativemalaemalīs
accusativemalammalās
ablativemalāmalīs
vocativemalamalae

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*molko-der.?
  2. Proto-Germanic*malhō
  3. Latinmala

Frankish *malhabor. Latin mala Borrowed from Frankish *malha (“leather bag”), from Proto-Germanic *malhō, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *molko-, or possibly borrowed from Thracian.

Descendants
  • Englishmailfrom Old French male
  • Catalanmalafrom Old French male
  • Frenchmallefrom Old French male
  • Portuguesemalafrom Old French male
  • Spanishmalafrom Old French male
  • Scotsmailfrom Old French male
  • Irishmálafrom Old French male
  • Gallomolfrom Old French male
  • Walloonmalefrom Old French male

Quick answers

What does māla mean in Latin?
māla, a noun, means “the cheekbone, jaw; the cheeks”.
What is the genitive of māla?
The genitive singular is mālae. māla is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce māla?
In classical Latin, [ˈmaː.ɫa]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmaː.la].