Midsea Books Ltd have published the Concise Maltese-English-Maltese Dictionary based on the monumental work of Joseph Aquilina.

The dictionary runs into 1,400 pages and includes more than 60,000 entries. It is printed on special paper which makes it lighter to carry and has been published in a one-volume edition using binding that makes it resistant to heavy use.

Shortly after the publication of the six volumes of the Aquilina dictionary, it was felt that a one-volume dictionary was needed for schools and offices. Midsea Books, backed by the Aquilina family, immediately started work on this project.

A number of scholars were consulted or worked directly on the publication. These included Joe Felice Pace, Carmel Azzopardi, Roger Degiorgio, Nicholas Vassallo, Karl Coleiro and Manwel Mifsud.

The work is aimed at students, translators and the general user. New synonyms have also been added to give the user a wider choice of English words.

Obsolete words, verbal phrases, idioms and expressions, cross references as well as etymological information have been omitted. The original system of presenting derivatives under the headword was retained but these were put in alphabetical order.

The dictionary has adopted the official orthography of the Ghaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti and L-Akkademja tal-Malti with revised updates.