Meanings
nounmalefice (plural malefices)
plural malefices
- archaicAn evil deed; evilness; enchantment or sorcery.
On hills like tumuli, and waters mute, A whiteness steals as of a world made still When reptant Death at last rears absolute— An earth now frozen by malefice of eyes Aeonian dooms and realm-deep rigors fill— The gaze of that Medusa of the skies
1912, Clark Ashton Smith, The Medusa of the Skies
Origin
From Latin maleficium: compare French maléfice. See malefactor.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
malefice. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malefice
MLA
“malefice.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malefice. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “malefice,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malefice.
Source: malefice on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.