maleficium
- noun
- /ˌmælɪˈfɪʃiəm/
- Archaic
:
maleficium
- Whether those who receive the body of Christ with harmful purposes (maleficium) should be punished as heretics.
Examples
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Whether those who baptize images with harmful purposes (maleficium) incur a "heretical fact" (factum haereticale) or should simply be judged as the authors of black.
Academic text (2007) -
It's quite clear that people might feel threatened by maleficium in any part of England.
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What makes prima facie superstitious practices potentially heretical is the underlying belief that God could be the cause of maleficium by means of sacramental consecration.
Academic text (2007) -
Enrico rejects the possibility that the devil "instrumentally" (ministerialiter) could cause the maleficium, on the Aristotelian principle that an agent must be present in the movement it causes.
Academic text (2007) -
In the old tale, the witch's malicious actions were seen as a clear example of maleficium.
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The villagers were warned about the potential maleficium that could arise from the forbidden rituals.
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Many believed that the unexplained misfortunes in the town were a result of maleficium practiced by a malevolent sorcerer.
Synonyms
16
8.1
Very bad actions that hurt other people
3
9.9
Words spoken to wish harm on someone
1
9.6
A wrong act that harms people or property
The act of doing harm or evil to others
Antonyms
How Harmful
Surface Forms
Etymology
Maleficium comes from Latin parts mal- meaning 'bad' and -ficium meaning 'an act' or 'a doing', so it literally means a 'bad act'. You can see the mal- part in English words like malicious and malfunction, and that is why maleficium is used for a harmful or evil deed.