Maliseet

American  

[mal-uh-seet] / ˈmæl əˌsit /

Also Malecite

noun

plural

Maliseets,

plural

Maliseet

1. Also called Wolastoqiyik.  a member of an Indigenous people of southern and western New Brunswick and northern Maine.

2. Also called Wolastoqey.  the Eastern Algonquian language of the Maliseet, mutually intelligible with Passamaquoddy.

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adjective

1. Sometimes Offensive. Also Wolastoqi of or relating to the Maliseet or their language.

Maliseet British  

/ ˈmælɪˌsiːt /

noun

1. a member of a Native Canadian people of New Brunswick and E Quebec

2. the Algonquian language of this people

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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

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 • Jun. 30, 2023

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 tribes elsewhere across the country.

From Washington Times • May 31, 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

However this Thoma was not our old Maliseet chief, for Mr. Wood observes of him, “Old King Thoma looks upon himself as hereditary king of the Mickmacks.”

From Glimpses of the Past History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784 by Raymond, W. O. (William Odber)