55%RatingSave Gender Feminine Usage Popular Culture Pronounced Pron. mə-LEHF-i-sənt(English) [key·IPA] Meaning & History From an English word meaning "harmful, evil", derived from Latin maleficens. This is the name of the villain in the animated Disney film Sleeping Beauty (1959). Categories conflict, Descendants characters, Disney characters, English adjectives, fictional characters, film titles, Kingdom Hearts characters, negative, Once Upon a Time characters, word names