verbirregular conjugation, suppletive, no passive, no imperative, no gerund
mālō
mālō (present infinitive mālle, perfect active māluī)
Classical[ˈmaː.ɫoː]Ecclesiastical[ˈmaː.lo]
№ 598 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- suppletiveto prefer, want more or instead; to wish rather, choose rather
BYRRHIA: Ego illam vīdī: virginem fōrma bona, / meminī vidērī. Quō aequior sum Pamphilō, / sī sē illam in somnīs quam illum amplectī māluit.
BYRRHIA: I saw her: [she was] a good-looking girl, as I recall. That’s why I’m more partial to Pamphilus, if he himself prefers [to be the one who] holds her in his sleep instead of that [other man].166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 428–430
Conjugation irregular
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | mālō | mālēbam | mālam | māluī | mālueram | māluerō |
| 2nd sg. | māvīs | mālēbās | mālēs | māluistī | māluerās | mālueris |
| 3rd sg. | māvult | mālēbat | mālet | māluit | māluerat | māluerit |
| 1st pl. | mālumus | mālēbāmus | mālēmus | māluimus | māluerāmus | māluerimus |
| 2nd pl. | māvultis | mālēbātis | mālētis | māluistis | māluerātis | mālueritis |
| 3rd pl. | mālunt | mālēbant | mālent | māluērunt māluēre | māluerant | māluerint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | mālim | māllem | māluerim | māluissem |
| 2nd sg. | mālīs | māllēs | māluerīs | māluissēs |
| 3rd sg. | mālit | māllet | māluerit | māluisset |
| 1st pl. | mālīmus | māllēmus | māluerīmus | māluissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | mālītis | māllētis | māluerītis | māluissētis |
| 3rd pl. | mālint | māllent | māluerint | māluissent |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | mālle | — |
| perfect infinitive | māluisse | — |
| present participle | mālēns mālente, mālentem, mālentēs, mālentī, mālentia, mālentibus, mālentis, mālentīs, mālentium | — |
mālo, mālui, malle (old forms, mavolo for malo, Plaut. As. 5, 1, 18; id. Curc. 2, 3, 41; id. Poen. 1, 2, 88; 90; id. Rud. 5, 3, 57; Ter. Hec. 4, 1, 25:
I.
mavolunt for malunt, Naev. ap. Fest. s. v. stuprum, p. 317 Müll.: mavoluit for maluit, Petr. S. p. 77: mavelim for malim, Plaut. As. 5, 2, 27; id. Aul. 4, 5, 1; id. Capt. 3, 3, 1; id. Bacch. 4, 8, 18; id. Men. 5, 1, 20; id. Mil. 4, 8, 46; id. Merc. 4, 3, 21; 5, 4, 48; id. Poen. 1, 1, 23; 4, 2, 5; 5, 2, 31; id. Pers. 1, 1, 4; id. Rud. 2, 7, 12; id. Truc. 2, 2, 22; 2, 4, 68; 4, 2, 29; 30; 33: mavelis for malis, id. Capt. 2, 2, 20; id. Ps. 1, 2, 8: mavelit for malit, id. Trin. 2, 2, 25: mavellem for mallem, id. Am. 1, 3, 14; id. Curc. 4, 2, 26; id. Bacch. 2, 2, 21; 3, 3, 48; 4, 9, 125; id. Mil. 2, 2, 16; id. Ps. 1, 1, 128; 4, 5, 6; id. Poen. 3, 3, 37: mavolet for malet, id. As. 1, 1, 108), v. a. magis - volo, to choose rather, to prefer. I. In gen., constr. with acc. of the person or thing, with an object-clause, or with subj. (class.).
(a). With acc. of the person or thing (rare): bonos et senatum malet, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 4, 2:
ambigua, ancipitia malebat, Tac. H. 2, 86: quin omnia malit, Hor. S. 2, 4, 61: quod mallem, which I would prefer, Ov. Tr. 2, 239; id. H. 21, 35: malo, Malo Venusinam quam te, Juv. 6, 167: ridenda poëmata malo, quam te, id. 10, 124; 14, 153.—In late Lat. also with acc. and dat.: ut me aliis omnibus mallet, App. Mag. 73, p. 321, 10.— (b). With object-clause (usu. class. constr.): seseque ii perire mavolunt ibidem, quam, etc., Naev. ap. Fest. p. 317 Müll.; Enn. ap. Varr. L. L. 6, § 81 Müll.; Cic. Off. 1, 19, 65:
Cato jam servire quam pugnare mavult, id. Att. 7, 15, 2: maluit illum esse deum, Hor. S. 1, 8, 3; Cic. Att. 13, 22, 3; id. Div. 2, 57, 118: judicium prius de probro quam de re maluit fieri, id. Quint. 2, 9: praetextam sumere mavis, an esse, etc., Juv. 10, 99.—(g). With nom. and inf.:
esse quam videri bonus malebat, Sall. C. 54, 5: unde fit ut malim fraterculus esse gigantis, Juv. 4, 98.— (d). With subj. (mostly poet.):
mallem ... cognoscerem, Cic. Fam. 7, 14: mallem divitias mihi dedisses, Quam, etc., Cat. 24, 4: fabula sit mavult, quam sine amore deus, Tib. 2, 3, 32: malo pater tibi sit Thersites, Juv. 8, 269.—Sometimes with comp. abl. instead of quam (poet. and in post-Aug. prose): nullos his mallem ludos spectasse, rather than these, Hor. S. 2, 8, 79: ne dubitaret armis incruentas conditiones malle, to choose rather than arms, prefer to arms, Tac. A. 12, 46.—Sometimes followed pleonastically by potius: se ab omnibus desertos potius quam abs to defensos esse malunt, Cic. Div. in Caecil. 6, 21: an ille Uticae potius, quam Romae, cum alienis esse quam cum suis maluisset? id. Lig. 2, 5; id. Cat. ap. Fam. 15, 5, 2; Anton. ap. Cic. Att. 14, 13, A, 3.—Also by quam: qui magis vere vincere, quam diu imperare malit, Liv. 22, 34 fin.—Strengthened by multo or haud paulo: meo judicio multo stare malo, quam aliorum, much rather, Cic. Att. 12, 21, 5: haud paulo hunc animum malim quam, etc., id. Tusc. 1, 42, 99.—II. In partic., to be more favorable to one:
in hac re malo universae Asiae et negotiatoribus, Cic. Att. 2, 16, 4: quamquam illi omnia malo, quam mihi, i. e. would rather he had them, id. Planc. 24, 59.—Hence, mālens, entis, P. a., preferring (late Lat.), Hier. in Matt. 2, ad 14, 4; Aug. c. Jul. 4, 14, 68.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
mālō māluī, mālle (old māvolō for mālō, T.)
magis+volo, to choose rather, prefer : sicut ego malo: Quid est quod mihi malim quam, etc., T.: omnia malle quam victi abire, S.: pacem quam bellum, S.: quin omnia malit, H.: acceptā iniuriā ignoscere quam persequi malebant, S.: rem obtinere, Cs.: quae cum audire mallem quam videre: nisi mavis Carpere pensum, H.: Mori me, T.: homines peccare quam deos: esse quam videri bonus malebat, S.: fraterculus esse gigantis, Iu.: Sis licet felix ubicumque mavis (sc. felix esse), H.: hos mallem secum milites eduxisset: Byblida mavult vocem sororem, ctc., O.: Nullos his mallem ludos spectasse, rather than these , H.: se ab omnibus desertos potius quam abs te defensos esse malunt: mature vincere quam diu imperare, L.: de flumine Quam ex fonticulo sumere, H.: meo iudicio multo stare malo quam omnium reliquorum, much rather.—To incline, prefer, be more favorable : in hac re malo universae Asiae: quamquam illi omnia malo quam mihi, i. e. would rather he had them .
Origins
From magis + volō, literally "I more greatly wish for".
Descendants
- Old Frenchmaloir