Malakos fundamentally means 'soft' -- soft to the touch, fine in texture, delicate in quality. In the Gospels, Jesus contrasts his rough-hewn prophet John the Baptist with those dressed in 'soft garments' (malaka), the kind worn in royal palaces (Matt 11:8; Luke 7:25). The word could also describe moral softness or self-indulgence; in 1 Cor 6:9 Paul uses it in a vice list where it likely denotes those who are morally weak or who yield to sensual excess. The semantic range moves from physical texture to luxury to moral characterization.