Maltese

[ mawl-teez, -tees ]

/ mɔlˈtiz, -ˈtis /

of or relating to Malta, its people, or their language.

a native or inhabitant of Malta.

the Arabic dialect spoken in Malta, using many Italian words.

Origin of Maltese

First recorded in 1605–15; Malt(a) + -ese

Robert Graves thought Hammett was better than either Chandler or Asbury and called The Maltese Falcon, “a literary landmark.”

The Man With Stories to Tell |Allen Barra |December 8, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
“So I called out of the clear blue sky with no agenda,” she remembers, as she holds up her Maltese, Max, for smooches.

Meet Mariann From Brooklyn, Howard Stern’s Biggest Fan |Kevin Fallon |February 28, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Not at all, as it turns out: He is worried about his little Maltese, which has a persistent liver infection.

Paul Bremer's Victory Lap |Tunku Varadarajan |March 29, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
As I said before, that copy must have been passed along with the corpse to the Maltese man.

The Green Mummy |Fergus Hume

But Dick's offering to Edith was an extravagant one: it was a Maltese cross set with emeralds.

Catholic World, Vol. XIII, April to September, 1871 |Various
I now inquired about their own language, when one of them said it was Maltese; but the other said it was their cant language.

A Morning's Walk from London to Kew |Richard Phillips
There's a thing mamma used to call the Maltese cross and that I think I've heard her say is very wonderful.

The Spoils of Poynton |Henry James
We have a beautiful Maltese cat, and twelve little chickens.

Harper's Young People, June 29, 1880 |Various

Maltese

/ (mɔːlˈtiːz) /

of or relating to Malta, its inhabitants, or their language

plural -tese a native or inhabitant of Malta

the official language of Malta, a form of Arabic with borrowings from Italian, etc

a breed of toy dog having a very long straight silky white coat

a domestic fancy pigeon having long legs and a long neck