/mal"it/ , n.
1. a hammerlike tool with a head commonly of wood but occasionally of rawhide, plastic, etc., used for driving any tool with a wooden handle, as a chisel, or for striking a surface.
2. the wooden implement used to strike the balls in croquet.
3. Polo. the long-handled stick, or club, used to drive the ball.
[ 1375-1425; late ME maillet mail MAUL + -et -ET ]