different between viciousness vs malignity

English

Etymology

From Middle English viciousnesse; equivalent to vicious +? -ness.

Noun

viciousness (countable and uncountable, plural viciousnesses)

1. the characteristic of being vicious

   Synonyms: viciosity, vitiosity

2. the desire to cause harm to others; extreme cruelty

Translations

Middle English

Noun

viciousness

1. Alternative form of viciousnesse

English

Etymology

From Middle French maligneté, from Latin malignitas.

Noun

malignity (countable and uncountable, plural malignities)

1. The quality of being malign or malignant; badness, evilness, monstrosity, depravity, maliciousness.
   • 1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, Chapter 40:

     His enjoyment of the spectacle I furnished, as he sat with his arms folded on the table, shaking his head at me and hugging himself, had a malignity in it that made me tremble.
2. A non-benign cancer; a malignancy.
   • 2005, Jun;106(3):177-80 English abstract of French article "Multiple metastases of a mandibular ameloblastoma" R.L. Abada et al., "Multiple metastases of a mandibular ameloblastoma", Revue de stomatologie et de chirurgie maxillo-faciale

     The absence of any histological sign of malignity in the primary tumor and in the metastases, as observed in our patient, is remarkable.

References

• Webster's Dictionary On-line
• Catholic Archives Notre Dame University
• Strong's Concordance
• King James Version of the Bible