Meaning

noun feeling a need to see others suffer

noun malevolence by virtue of being malicious or spiteful or nasty

verb hurt the feelings of

originFrom Middle English spit, a shortening of despit (whence despite), from Old French despit, from Latin dēspectum (“looking down on”), from Latin dēspiciō (“to look down, despise”). Compare also North Frisian spīt, spīd (“regret”), Saterland Frisian Spiet (“regret, remorse”), West Frisian spyt (“regret”), Dutch spijt (“regret, remorse”), German Low German Spiet (“anger, regret, remorse”), German…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0