Word of the day! 10-20-08

Today's Word
malfeasance \mal-FEE-zuhn(t)s\, noun:Wrongdoing, misconduct, or misbehavior, especially by a public official.

"But more often than not the same board members who were removed by the chancellor for malfeasance subsequently manage to get reelected in a political process that defies any form of accountability.-- Diane Ravitch and Joseph Viteritti, New Schools for a New Century

"Cagney family conjecture was that Grandpop Nelson, with the temper of a dozen Furies, had likely committed some malfeasance in his native town forcing him to change his name when he left.-- John McCabe, Cagney

Malfeasance is derived from Old French malfaisant, present participle of malfaire, "to do evil," from Latin malefacere, from male, "badly" + facere, "to do."