malice aforethought

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malice aforethought

Where it comes from

Calque of Anglo-Norman malice prepensé (literally “forethought malice”).

noun

uncountable The criminal intent which precedes a crime, especially murder.
Similar: premeditation, malice prepense

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MLA

"malice aforethought." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/malice%20aforethought. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

malice aforethought. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/malice%20aforethought

Chicago

"malice aforethought." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/malice%20aforethought.

BibTeX

@misc{malice_aforethought_2026,
  title = {malice aforethought},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/malice%20aforethought},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}