The Spanish word 'malandro' (meaning 'rogue' or 'scoundrel') traces its origins through Italian and Provençal. It comes from the Italian 'malandrino' meaning 'highwayman', which itself derived from the Provençal word 'malandrin' meaning 'brigand'. The Provençal term was formed by combining two elements: 'mal' meaning 'bad' and 'landrin' meaning 'thief', literally describing a 'bad thief' or 'evil robber'. Over time, the meaning has evolved from specifically referring to highway robbers to more generally describing any untrustworthy or roguish person in Spanish.

The Spanish word 'malo' (meaning 'bad') shares the same root 'mal-' that appears in 'malandro'. You can see this common element in many Spanish words that convey something negative, like 'maldad' (evil), 'malhechor' (wrongdoer), and 'malicia' (malice). Understanding this connection can help you remember that a 'malandro' is someone who does bad or evil things.

While English doesn't have a direct cognate of 'malandro', we can recognize the 'mal-' prefix in many English words that also came from Latin, such as 'malicious', 'malevolent', and 'malefactor'. All these words share the sense of badness or evil, just like 'malandro'. The English word 'malandered' (though rare and archaic) was once used to describe horses suffering from a specific foot disease, and it shares the same etymological root through Old French and Medieval Latin.