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mal·aise

(mă-lāz, -lĕz)

1. A vague feeling of bodily discomfort, as at the beginning of an illness.

2. A general sense of depression or unease: "The markets remain mired in a deep malaise" (New York Times).

[French, from Old French : mal-, mal- + aise, ease; see EASE.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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