mauvais

Inherited from Middle French maulvais, from Old French malvais, malveis (“evil, wicked, bad, of poor or inferior quality", later also "unlucky”), from Late Latin malifātius (“unfortunate”, 4th c.), from Latin malus (“bad”) + fātum (“fate”). According to some sources, influenced in meaning by Frankish *balwīg (“evil, wicked, of poor quality”), which was suspected to have become altered to *malwīg under influence of Latin malus (“bad”).

• IPA^(key): /mo.vɛ/, /mɔ.vɛ/

• Audio:

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mauvais (feminine mauvaise, masculine plural mauvais, feminine plural mauvaises, comparative pire, superlative le pire)

1. bad
2. wrong, incorrect

   Il a choisi la mauvaise réponse.

   He chose the wrong response.

Only three French adjectives have an irregular comparative: mauvais (pire), bon (meilleur) and petit (moindre).

• bon

• mal

• “mauvais”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Old French malvais (1080), from Late Latin malifātius (“unfortunate”, 4th c.), from Latin malum (“bad”) + fātum (“fate”).

mauvais m

1. (Jersey, Guernsey) bad

• mauvais yi (“evil eye”)

mauvais m (oblique and nominative feminine singular mauvaise)

1. Alternative form of malvais