malefactor. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

malefactor

SYLLABICATION:	mal·e·fac·tor
PRONUNCIATION:	ml-fktr
NOUN:	1. One that has committed a crime; a criminal. 2. An evildoer.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English malefactour, from Latin malefactor, from malefacere, to do wrong : male, ill; see mel-³ in Appendix I + facere, to do; see dh- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	male·faction (-fkshn) —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.