mali

mali · noun¹

1. Sanskrit · derived fromमाली“wreath-maker, garland-maker; florist; gardener”
2. Hindi · borrowed fromमाली“gardener”
3. English todaymali

Borrowed from Hindi माली (mālī, “gardener”), from Sanskrit माली (mālī, “wreath-maker, garland-maker; florist; gardener”), मालिन् (mālin, “florist; gardener”), from माला (mālā, “wreath, garland; chaplet, crown”).

mali · noun²

1. Arabicمَا (mā)
2. Proto-Semitic*lV-
3. Arabicلِـ (li-)
4. Arabicمَال (māl)
5. Swahilimali
6. Xhosaímalí
7. Swahilimali
8. Zuluímalí
9. English todaymali

Borrowed from Xhosa imali, Zulu imali (“money”), both ultimately from Swahili mali (“riches, wealth; property”), from Arabic مَال (māl, “money; affluence, wealth; possessions, property”). Some dictionaries suggest an origin in English money instead, making no attempt to account for the distribution of the loanword nor the proposed shift from /n/ to /l/, both of which make this unlikely.

mali · noun³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)mel-“erroneous, false; bad, evil”
2. Latin · borrowed frommalī
3. English todaymali

Borrowed from Latin malī, a plural form of malus (“adverse, unfavourable, unfortunate, unlucky; destructive, hurtful; bad, evil”) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“erroneous, false; bad, evil”)).

Mali · proper noun⁴

1. dyu · derived frommali“hippopotamus”
2. English todayMali

Inherits its name from the Mali Empire, in turn from Mandinka or Dyula mali (“hippopotamus”).

Mali · noun⁵

Clipping of Somali (“a person from Somalia or of Somali descent”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from mid 18th c. A member of a caste in South Asia whose traditional occupation is gardening; hence, any South Asian gardener.
• from mid 19th c. Money, cash.