malfunction
Meaning
(of a machine or piece of equipment) to fail to work normally or correctly.
a failure to work or operate normally.
Structure
Usage
The elevator malfunctioned, trapping people between floors.
Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the computer malfunction.
A minor software malfunction caused the display to flicker.
Etymology
The word 'malfunction' is a modern English compound formed by directly combining two classical elements. The prefix 'mal-', of Latin origin, carries the enduring sense of 'bad' or 'wrong'. It is attached to the noun (and later verb) 'function', which derives from the Latin verb fungi, meaning 'to perform' or 'to execute'. The literal, morpheme-by-morpheme construction is "bad performance." This transparent logic perfectly captures the modern abstract meaning: when a complex system, originally a machine but now applicable to biological or social systems, performs badly or fails to execute its intended operation. The term elegantly describes a deviation from proper working order.
Analysis
- mal: From Latin malus (bad, evil). A prefix indicating bad, wrong, or ill. - function: From Latin functio (performance, execution), from fungi (to perform, execute). A noun/verb meaning the purpose or operation of something.