malady
/ˈmæl.ə.di/noun
malady is spelled M-A-L-A-D-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,949th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, malady means “Any ailment or disease of the body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of malady is maladies.
How many letters and syllables are in malady?
| Letters | 6: M-A-L-A-D-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 49,949th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is malady?
Malady appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,949th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce malady?
- /ˈmæl.ə.di/
Malady has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-malady.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of malady
- maladies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does malady mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any ailment or disease of the body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.
The maladies of the body may prove medicines of the mind.
- 2
A moral or mental defect or disorder.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Malady in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a disease, illness, or other health disorder:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | maladie |
| German | Krankheit, Übel |
| Portuguese | mal |
| Spanish | mal, achaque, maleza, aje, aj, ax |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does malady come from?
From Middle English maladie, from Old French maladie (“sickness, illness, disease”), from malade (“ill, sick”), from Latin male habitus (“ill-kept, not in good condition”), 1st century AD. See also malice and habit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).