Meanings
malt1
plural malts
- countableuncountableMalt liquor, especially malt whisky.
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.
1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, section LXII - UScountableinformaluncountableA milkshake with malted milk powder added for flavor.
Afterward she sat in the drugstore sucking malt through a straw.
1992, Toni Morrison, Jazz, Vintage (2016), page 89Synonyms: malted
present singular third person malts · participle present malting · participle past malted · past malted
- transitiveTo convert a cereal grain into malt by causing it to sprout (by soaking in water) and then halting germination (by drying with hot air) in order to develop enzymes that can break down starches and proteins in the grain.
- intransitiveTo become malt.
- datedhumorousintransitiveTo drink malt liquor.
MALT2
- abbreviationinitialismuncountableInitialism of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA milkshake with malted milk powder added for flavor.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna lager of high alcohol content; by law it is considered too alcoholic to be sold as lager or beer
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*meld-
- Proto-Germanic*maltą“malt”
- Proto-West Germanic*malt
- Old Englishmealt
- Middle Englishmalt
- Englishmalt
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.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek βύνη
- βύνη (búnē)sprouted grain used in brewing
Arabic مَلْت
- مَلْت (malt)sprouted grain used in brewing
Bulgarian слад, малц
- слад (slad)sprouted grain used in brewing
- малц (malc)sprouted grain used in brewing
- малцово уиски (malcovo uiski)malt liquor
Catalan malt
- maltsprouted grain used in brewing
Chinese Mandarin 麥芽 /麦芽
- 麥芽 /麦芽 (màiyá)sprouted grain used in brewing
Czech slad
- sladsprouted grain used in brewing
Danish malt, malte
- maltsprouted grain used in brewing
- malteto convert grain into malt
Dutch mout, mouten
- moutsprouted grain used in brewing
- moutento convert grain into malt
Estonian linnas
- linnassprouted grain used in brewing
Finnish mallas, mallasjuoma
- mallassprouted grain used in brewing
- mallasjuomamalt liquor
- mallasviskimalt liquor
- mallastettu pirtelömalted milkshake
- mallassokerimaltose-rich sugar
- mallastaato convert grain into malt
French malt, malter
- maltsprouted grain used in brewing
- malterto convert grain into malt
German Malz, mälzen
- Malzsprouted grain used in brewing
- mälzento convert grain into malt
Greek βύνη
- βύνη (výni)sprouted grain used in brewing
Hebrew לֶתֶת
- לֶתֶת (létet)sprouted grain used in brewing
Hungarian maláta
- malátasprouted grain used in brewing
Irish braich
- braichsprouted grain used in brewing
Italian malto, maltare
- maltosprouted grain used in brewing
- maltareto convert grain into malt
Japanese 麦芽
- 麦芽 (bakuga)sprouted grain used in brewing
Korean 엿기름, 보리길금
- 엿기름 (yeotgireum)sprouted grain used in brewing
- 보리길금 (borigilgeum)sprouted grain used in brewing
Latin maltum
- maltumsprouted grain used in brewing
Latvian iesals
- iesalssprouted grain used in brewing
Lithuanian salyklas
- salyklassprouted grain used in brewing
Malay malta
- maltasprouted grain used in brewing
Māori morota
- morotasprouted grain used in brewing
Norwegian Bokmål malt, malte
- maltsprouted grain used in brewing
- malteto convert grain into malt
Persian مالت
- مالت (mâlt)sprouted grain used in brewing
Polish słód
- słódsprouted grain used in brewing
Portuguese malte, maltar
- maltesprouted grain used in brewing
- maltarto convert grain into malt
Russian со́лод
- со́лод (sólod)sprouted grain used in brewing
Slovak slad
- sladsprouted grain used in brewing
Spanish malta, malteada
- maltasprouted grain used in brewing
- malteadamalted milkshake
Swedish malt, mälta
- maltsprouted grain used in brewing
- mältato convert grain into malt
Tagalog malta
- maltasprouted grain used in brewing
Turkish malt
- maltsprouted grain used in brewing
Ukrainian со́лод
- со́лод (sólod)sprouted grain used in brewing
Vietnamese mạch nha
- mạch nhasprouted grain used in brewing
Welsh brag
- bragsprouted grain used in brewing
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with malt
All rhymes →Cite this entry
malt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malt
“malt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malt. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “malt,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malt.
Source: malt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.