malversation

noun

mal·ver·sa·tion ˌmal-vər-ˈsā-shən

: misbehavior and especially corruption in an office, trust, or commission

: corrupt administration

Did you know?

The form mal- is often a bad sign in a word, and malversation is no exception. In Middle French, mal- (meaning "bad," from the Latin word for "bad," malus) teamed up with verser ("to turn, handle," from the Latin verb vertere, "to turn ") to create malverser, a verb meaning "to be corrupt." This in turn led to the French noun malversation, which was adopted by English speakers in the mid-16th century. Some other mal- words that entered English from Middle French are maladroit ("inept"), malcontent ("discontented"), and maltreat ("to treat badly").

Examples of malversation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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With the Philippines’ ranking 117th among 180 countries in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index, the public has good reason to fear potential malversation to do with the MIF. —

Time, 16 Dec. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, from malverser to be corrupt, from mal + verser to turn, handle, from Latin versare, frequentative of vertere to turn — more at worth

First Known Use

1549, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of malversation was in 1549

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