Maliseet
Americannoun
plural
Maliseets,plural
Maliseet-
Also called Wolastoqiyik. a member of an Indigenous people of southern and western New Brunswick and northern Maine.
-
Also called Wolastoqey. the Eastern Algonquian language of the Maliseet, mutually intelligible with Passamaquoddy.
adjective
noun
-
a member of a Native Canadian people of New Brunswick and E Quebec
-
the Algonquian language of this people
Sensitive Note
The word Maliseet comes from a Mi’kmaq word meaning “he speaks slowly; he speaks unintelligibly.” Because of this word origin, and because Maliseet is not this people's own name for themselves, the term is sometimes considered offensive. The group's self-designation is Wolastoqiyik, and their language is called Wolastoqey.
Etymology
Origin of Maliseet
First recorded in 1740–50; earlier Malecite, from French Malécite, from Mi'kmaq mali⋅sit “he speaks slowly; he speaks unintelligibly”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The settlement for the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet, along with a 1991 agreement for the Mi’kmaq, stipulates they’re bound by state law and treated like municipalities in many cases.
From Washington Times
The agreement for the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet, along with a 1991 agreement for the Mi’kmaq, allows them to be treated much like municipalities subject to state law instead of dealing directly with the federal government like other tribes.
From Seattle Times
The settlement for the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet, along with a 1991 agreement for the Mi’kmaq, stipulates they’re bound by state law, and treated like municipalities in many cases.
From Seattle Times
That 1980 settlement for the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet, along with a 1991 agreement for the Mi’kmaq, set the tribes apart from others in the country.
From Seattle Times
That settlement for the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet, along with a 1991 agreement for the Mi’kmaq, put the tribes in Maine on a different path from others elsewhere in the country.
From Seattle Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
