malefit
"malefit" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“malefit” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A detriment or disadvantage
Corpus desk
Index EN-malefit · malefit · English
malefit · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | malefit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “malefit” in English
Rare enough to double-check
malefit is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A detriment or disadvantage".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for malefit, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested from 1700s. Learned borrowing from Latin malefit, modeled on benefit. Equivalent to French malfaire. The correct English form is malefit, spelled M-A-L-E-F-I-T.
Definition
- 1A detriment or disadvantage
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how malefit appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
However, if there are elements of similarity or dissimilarity, such as benefits and malefits to mankind, it can be useful to make such a comparison even if it cannot be made quantitatively.
Etymology
Attested from 1700s. Learned borrowing from Latin malefit, modeled on benefit. Equivalent to French malfaire.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.