Malt

How to spell malt

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce malt

What does malt mean?

1. nounBarley or other grain that has been soaked, germinated, and dried, used to brew beer or distil whisky.
2. verbTo convert grain into malt by soaking, sprouting, and drying it.
3. nounA sweet drink made with malted milk powder, ice cream, and flavouring.

Malt in a sentence

• noun

  The brewery roasts its own malt to give the stout a darker flavour.

• verb

  The brewer will malt the barley over several days before drying it.

• noun

  The diner served a thick chocolate malt with two straws.

• noun

  A good single malt whisky depends on the quality of the barley.

• verb

  They malt their own grain rather than buying it ready-made.

• noun

  She ordered a vanilla malt and a plate of fries.

Where does malt come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Malt is a native Germanic word that comes down to us almost unchanged from the Old English mealt, the name for grain (chiefly barley) that has been soaked, allowed to sprout, and then dried for brewing and distilling. It belongs to a family of related words across the Germanic languages, including the Dutch mout and the German Malz, all tracing back to a shared Proto-Germanic root. Scholars connect that root to the idea of softening or melting, since the grain is steeped until it becomes soft and tender enough to germinate, and the words malt and melt are believed to be distant relatives. The brewing sense has been central in English for well over a thousand years, and the verb meaning 'to turn grain into malt' grew naturally from the noun. In the twentieth century the word also attached itself to sweet malted milk drinks, especially in American usage. Because it is so short and phonetic, its only spelling pitfall is the silent feel of the 'l' before the 't'.

How the word is built

• malt (single root, from Old English mealt; no affixes)