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malt

(môlt)

1. Grain, usually barley, that has been allowed to sprout, used chiefly in brewing and distilling.

2. An alcoholic beverage, such as beer or ale, brewed from malt.

3. See malted milk.

v. malt·ed, malt·ing, malts

v.tr.

1. To process (grain) into malt.

2. To treat or mix with malt or a malt extract.

v.intr.

To become malt.

[Middle English, from Old English mealt; see mel-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

malty adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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