malariayoudaoicibaDictYouDict[malaria 词源字典]
malaria: [18] The original English term for an ‘attack of malarial fever’ was ague. The word malaria did not come on the scene until the mid- 18th century. It was borrowed from Italian mal’aria, a conflation of mala aria, literally ‘bad air’. This was an allusion to the former belief that malaria was caused by foul air, and particularly by vapours given off by swamps.
=> air, malign[malaria etymology, malaria origin, 英语词源]
malaria (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1740, from Italian mal'aria, from mala aria, literally "bad air," from mala "bad" (fem. of malo, from Latin malus; see mal-) + aria "air" (see air (n.1)). Probably first used by Italian physician Francisco Torti (1658-1741). The disease, now known to be mosquito-borne, once was thought to be caused by foul air in marshy districts. Replaced native ague.