malt

Definition

Malted grain (sprouted grain) (usually barley), used in brewing and otherwise.

Etymology

From Middle English malt, from Old English mealt, from Proto-West Germanic *malt, from Proto-Germanic *maltą (“malt”), from *maltaz (“soft; nesh; weak; squashy; melting”), from Proto-Indo-European *meld-, *mled- (“to crush; grind; make weak”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Moalt (“malt”), Dutch mout (“malt”), German Malz (“malt”), Swedish malt (“malt”), Old Church Slavonic младъ (mladŭ, “tender; young”), Russian молодой (molodoj, “young; fresh; new”). The Proto-Germanic noun was borrowed into Proto-Slavic as *malta; compare Ukrainian мо́лот (mólot), Czech mláto. More at melt.

Example Sentences

• "Oh many a peer of England brews Livelier liquor than the Muse, And malt does more than Milton can To justify God's ways to man."
• "Afterward she sat in the drugstore sucking malt through a straw."

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