different between malady vs debility

English

Etymology

From Middle English maladie, from Old French maladie (“sickness, illness, disease”), from malade (“ill, sick”), from Latin male habitus (“ill-kept, not in good condition”), 1st century AD. See also malice and habit.

Pronunciation

• enPR: m?l'?-d?, IPA^(key): /?mæl.?.di/

Noun

malady (plural maladies)

1. Any ailment or disease of the body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.
   • a. 1812, Joseph Stevens Buckminster, It is Good for Me, that I have been Afflicted (sermon)

     The maladies of the body may prove medicines of the mind.

2. A moral or mental defect or disorder.

   • Love's a malady without a cure.

Synonyms

• ailment, disease, disorder, distemper, illness, sickness

Translations

References

• malady in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “malady”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Middle English

Noun

malady

1. Alternative form of maladie

English

Etymology

From Middle English debylite, from Old French debilité (French débilité), from Latin d?bilit?s (“weakness”), from d?bilis (“weak”), from d?- + habilis (“able”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??b?l?ti/
• Rhymes: -?l?ti

Noun

debility (countable and uncountable, plural debilities)

1. A state of physical or mental weakness.
   • 1818, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.

     As I was in a state of extreme debility, I resolved to sail directly towards the town, as a place where I could most easily procure nourishment.

     […]

     I was ready to sink from fatigue and hunger, but being surrounded by a crowd, I thought it politic to rouse all my strength, that no physical debility might be construed into apprehension or conscious guilt.

Related terms

• debile
• debilitate
• debilitation

Translations

Further reading

• debility in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• debility in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.