malt

Forms

malt m (plural malts)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English malt, from Old English mealt (8th century).^[2][3][4][5] The English word answers to Dutch mout, German Malz, Swedish malt and Danish malt, which point to Germanic *maltaz.^[3] Rey relates this to a Germanic word for “soft” and to an Indo-European root also found in Latin mollis and French mou.^[3]

From French it passed into Italian malto.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1702, in a text about England, the État présent d'Angleterre.^[2][4][3]

Semantic evolution

At first the word was used only of England; it is recorded as a French word in 1745.^[3][7] It names barley or other grain made to sprout and then dried, used to make beer and whisky and, roasted, as a coffee substitute.^[3][8] With whisky it enters the phrase pur malt, also used alone, un pur malt, as opposed to blended whisky.^[3][8] In Belgian French it also names roasted barley used in an infusion in place of coffee.^[3]

The 19th century formed the derivatives malter (1808), maltage (1834), malteur (1840), malterie and maltose (1872).^[4][3]

Timeline

• 1702 – First record in French, of England.^[2][4]
• 1745 – Used as a French word.^[3][7]
• 1808 – The verb malter is recorded.^[4][3]
• 1871 – Maltine is recorded.^[2]
• 1872 – Maltose and malterie are recorded.^[4]
• 1902 – Larousse records malt en vert, later malt vert.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. Malt: grain, chiefly barley, made to sprout artificially and then dried and separated from its sprouts, used in brewing: une bière de malt.^[8][2][9]
2. Malt vert: malt that has not been dried.^[7][9]
3. Pur malt, un pur malt: a single malt whisky.^[8][10][3]
4. Roasted barley used as a coffee substitute;^[8][3] (Belgium) such barley used in an infusion.^[8][3]

Word family

• maltage
• malter
• malterie
• malteur
• maltose
• maltase
• maltine
• malté

Related words

• English malt

Usage notes

Anglo-Norman already had malt in 1427–28, from English.^[11] Littré cited a form mast from an ordinance of 1495 under malt, taking both from German Malz;^[12] the GLLF says that this mast has nothing to do with malt.^[7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 18, 82b
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
12. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette