Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
Maltese [mawl-teez, -tees] ExamplesWord Origin adjective
- of or relating to Malta, its people, or their language.
noun, plural Mal·tese.
Origin of Maltese First recorded in 1605–15; Malt(a) + -ese Examples from the Web for maltese Contemporary Examples of maltese
Robert Graves thought Hammett was better than either Chandler or Asbury and called The Maltese Falcon, “a literary landmark.”
Allen Barra
December 8, 2013
“So I called out of the clear blue sky with no agenda,” she remembers, as she holds up her Maltese, Max, for smooches.
Meet Mariann From Brooklyn, Howard Stern’s Biggest Fan
Kevin Fallon
February 28, 2013
Not at all, as it turns out: He is worried about his little Maltese, which has a persistent liver infection.
Tunku Varadarajan
March 29, 2010
Historical Examples of maltese
This cross, like that last named, is more like a Greek cross than a Maltese cross.
John Denham Parsons
The foot should be small and round (in the maltese, pointed).
Helen M. Winslow
And I have a nice Maltese kitty, and a little bird that sings like everything.
Harper’s Young People, June 15, 1880
Various
We have a beautiful Maltese cat, and twelve little chickens.
Harper’s Young People, June 29, 1880
Various
I ‘m not sure he was not a Maltese; but such a salad as he could make!
Charles James Lever
British Dictionary definitions for maltese Maltese adjective
- of or relating to Malta, its inhabitants, or their language
noun
- plural -tese a native or inhabitant of Malta
- the official language of Malta, a form of Arabic with borrowings from Italian, etc
- a breed of toy dog having a very long straight silky white coat
- a domestic fancy pigeon having long legs and a long neck
Word Origin and History for maltese Maltese
from Malta + -ese. Maltese cat is attested from 1830; Maltese cross is from 1754 (earlier Malta cross, 1650s).