malversation

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The Word of the Day for December 3 is: 

malversation   \mal-ver-SAY-shun\   noun
    *1 : misbehavior and especially corruption in an office, trust, or 
commission 
     2 : corrupt administration 

Example sentence:
     The governor was finally convicted of malversation, after years of rumors 
about kickbacks and illegal contracts.

Did you know?
     The form "mal-" is often a bad sign in a word, and "malversation" is no 
exception. In Middle French, "mal-" (meaning "bad," from the Latin word for 
"bad," "malus") teamed up with "verser" ("to turn, handle," from the Latin verb 
"vertere," "to turn ") to create "malverser," a verb meaning "to be corrupt." 
This in turn led to "malversation," which was adopted by English speakers in 
the mid-16th century. Some other "mal-" descendants are "maladroit" ("inept"), 
"malcontent" ("discontented"), and "maltreat" ("to treat badly").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.