Maltose

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmɔːltəʊz/

Definitions

1. A disaccharide composed of two glucose units that is produced during the digestion of starch and is commonly present in malted beverages and food products
2. This sugar, formed from two linked glucose molecules, plays a significant role in the brewing process and is present in various foods derived from malt
3. A sugar consisting of two glucose units linked together, commonly found in malt and produced when starch breaks down

Etymology: Maltose is a chemist's coinage, built in the 19th century from an old English word and a scientific suffix. The first part, "malt," is ordinary English for barley that has been soaked and dried so its starches begin to break down into sugars. The second part, "-ose," is the standard chemical ending that marks a sugar, borrowed in the same way as the "-ose" in "glucose." The sugar's name therefore points straight at its source. Maltose is what appears when enzymes in germinating barley split starch, and brewers have relied on it for as long as they have made beer from grain. The name was chosen to describe where the sugar came from, not what it tasted like or how it behaved. Its neighbour in the word list is glucose, which comes from ancient Greek "gleukos," meaning sweet wine or must. Maltose is made of two glucose units joined together, so the two names are related through chemistry rather than through their roots.