Maltese

[mawl-teez, -tees]

adjective

1. of or relating to Malta, its people, or their language.

noun

plural

Maltese 

1. a native or inhabitant of Malta.

2. the Arabic dialect spoken in Malta, using many Italian words.

3. Maltese cat.

4. Maltese dog.

Maltese

/ mɔːlˈtiːz /

adjective

1. of or relating to Malta, its inhabitants, or their language

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Malta

2. the official language of Malta, a form of Arabic with borrowings from Italian, etc

3. a breed of toy dog having a very long straight silky white coat

4. a domestic fancy pigeon having long legs and a long neck

Word History and Origins

Origin of Maltese¹

First recorded in 1605–15; Malt(a) + -ese

Example Sentences

Though he has been known to describe himself as being Maltese, he was born in 1986 in Uzbekistan when it was still a part of the Soviet Union.

From BBC

But when Khorram’s husband took Mini the Maltese to get microchipped, the vet broke the news: The pup had a heart murmur.

From Los Angeles Times

On Tuesday Greek, Italian and Maltese ministers as well as the EU's migration commissioner travelled to Libya to discuss the surge in migrant depatures.

From BBC

Fury was the beneficiary of a Netflix reality television show and a partnership with Maltese tourism.

From BBC

In its original form, the song's chorus revolved around the phrase "serving kant" – the word kant being Maltese for "singing" and a homophone for an English term that definitely doesn't mean singing.

From BBC