malison

/ˈmælɪzən/

Etymology

From Middle English malisoun, from Old French maleison, from Latin maledictiō, from the past participle stem of maledīcō (“to speak ill of”), from male (“wickedly, badly”) + dīcō (“say, speak”). Doublet of malediction.

malison means A curse, a malediction. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

malison is pronounced /ˈmælɪzən/.

Why “malison” is a great word

MALISON — [Noun] A solemn, formal curse or malediction. From Middle English malisoun, from Old French maleison, from Latin maledictiō ("the act of speaking ill"), from male ("wickedly, badly") + dīcō ("say, speak"). Unlike a "benison," its direct and blessed opposite, or an "imprecation," a general spoken curse, a malison is an archaic and weighty utterance, heavy with ritual intent. It is the anathema pronounced by a cloistered bishop, the hex etched into a leaden tablet and sunk into a well, or the final, sibilant vow of a dying witch—a testament to the ancient faith that words, given proper shape and venom, could corrode the very grain of the world.

noun

A curse, a malediction.“A hide of land I give to thee in my steads of Walbrugham, from me and mine to thee and thine aye and for ever; and God’s malison on his head who this gainsays!”