Not working properly or failing to operate as intended.
From French 'mal-' meaning 'bad' or 'wrong,' combined with 'functioning' from Latin 'functio' meaning 'performance of duty.' The term emerged in modern English to describe mechanical or electronic failure.
When engineers talk about a 'graceful degradation,' they mean a malfunctioning system that fails partially but continues working—like a car that still runs despite a broken radio, which is actually a sign of brilliant design.
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