Maliseet
Americannoun
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Also called Wolastoqiyik. a member of an Indigenous people of southern and western New Brunswick and northern Maine.
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Also called Wolastoqey. the Eastern Algonquian language of the Maliseet, mutually intelligible with Passamaquoddy.
adjective
noun
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a member of a Native Canadian people of New Brunswick and E Quebec
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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.
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 • Jun. 22, 2023
Yet in our recent study, we found the Wabanaki Nations in Maine – Maliseet, Mi'kmaq, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot – and their 9,546 citizens have been left out of this progress.
From Salon • Feb. 15, 2023
Greenlaw, a Maliseet forestry scientist working on her PhD at the University of Maine, is at the forefront of the effort to protect the state’s brown ash.
From The Verge • Nov. 25, 2019
The Wolastoq people – also known as the Maliseet – are native to the Saint John river valley across far eastern Canada.
From The Guardian • Sep. 18, 2018
Either of these pronounced in French fashion is practically identical with Maliseet, the form adopted by modern students of Indian lore, and which the writer has followed in this history.
From Glimpses of the Past History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784 by Raymond, W. O. (William Odber)
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.
