spiteful
Meaning
showing or caused by malice; deliberately hurtful.
Structure
Usage
she gave him a spiteful look.
he made some spiteful remarks about his former colleague.
it was a spiteful act of vandalism.
Etymology
The word 'spiteful' is a relatively modern English formation, combining the noun 'spite' with the adjectival suffix '-ful'. The core element, 'spite', entered English via Anglo-Norman and Old French, tracing back to the Latin verb 'despicere', meaning 'to look down on'. This literal act of looking down evolved metaphorically into feelings of contempt and a desire to hurt or annoy. By adding the native English suffix '-ful', meaning 'full of', the word directly describes a person or action characterized by or filled with this malicious contempt.
Analysis
"spite" originates from the Old French word 'despit' (contempt, scorn), which came from Latin 'despectus' (a looking down on, contempt). "ful" is a suffix of Old English origin, meaning 'full of' or 'characterized by'.