# malt

> English word · Noun · IPA /mɒlt/ · frequency rank #16,964

## Definitions
1. Malted grain (sprouted grain) (usually barley), used in brewing and otherwise.
2. Malt liquor, especially malt whisky.
3. A milkshake with malted milk powder added for flavor.
4. Maltose-rich sugar derived from malted grain.

## Etymology
From Middle English malt, from Old English mealt, from Proto-West Germanic *malt, from Proto-Germanic *maltą (“malt”), from *maltaz (“soft; nesh; weak; squashy; melting”), from Proto-Indo-European *meld-, *mled- (“to crush; grind; make weak”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Moalt (“malt”), Dutch mout (“malt”), German Malz (“malt”), Swedish malt (“malt”), Old Church Slavonic младъ (mladŭ, “tender; young”), Russian молодой (molodoj, “young; fresh; new”). The Proto-Germanic noun was borrowed into Proto-Slavic as *malta; compare Ukrainian мо́лот (mólot), Czech mláto. More at melt.

## Easily confused with
- **MT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mt)
- **ML** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-ml)
- **may** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-may)
- **man** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-man)
- **met** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-met)
- **map** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-map)
- **max** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-max)
- **mar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mar)
- **MLB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mlb)
- **mat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mat)
- **mel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mel)
- **mil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mil)
- **mit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mit)
- **mao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mao)
- **MLA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mla)
- **mam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mam)
- **mol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mol)
- **MLM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mlm)
- **mot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mot)
- **Mau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malt-vs-mau)

## Common misspellings (6)
`amlt`, `mallt`, `maltt`, `matl`, `mlat`, `mmalt`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/malt