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.

---

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

---

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

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

That settlement for the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet, along with a 1991 agreement for the Mi’kmaq, all federally recognized, put the Maine tribes on a different footing from tribes elsewhere across the country.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 12, 2022

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

Michael Francklin continued to the last to cultivate the friendship of Pierre Thoma the old Maliseet chieftain whose descendants, it may be observed, are numerous at the present day.

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