Etymology Explorer › Irish

Where does “Máltais” come from?

Máltais (Irish) comes from Irish Málta, from Maltese Malta, from Arabic مَالِطَا, from Latin Melita, from Ancient Greek Μελίτη, from Ancient Greek μέλι, from Proto-Indo-European mélid — honey.

Ancestry of “Máltais”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1IrishMáltaMalta
2MalteseMalta—
3Arabicمَالِطَا—
4LatinMelita—
5Ancient GreekΜελίτη—
6Ancient Greekμέλιhoney; anything sweet
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmélidhoney
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mélid →