melt English · revision 10720

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=ang meltan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /melt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a fusion of two Old English verbs:^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|meltan|t=to become liquid]] (about 725, in Beowulf), a strong verb,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and Anglian gemæltan, West Saxon gemyltan, to make liquid,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with Old Norse melta, to digest, malt, and Gothic gamalteins, dissolution.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) They go back to an Indo-European root meaning soft, seen also in Greek méldein, to soften by boiling, Latin mollis, soft, and Sanskrit mṛdú-, soft, tender,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) and are related to [[smelt]], [[mild]] and [[malt]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To become liquid through heat: about 725.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English melt could also mean to dissolve, of salt or sugar, to corrode, of iron, and to putrefy, of flesh.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense, to grow soft or tender in feeling, is by about 1200.^(Etymonline) To pass imperceptibly into something else is by 1781.^(Etymonline) The old past participle survives as the adjective [[molten]].^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline) The noun, molten metal, is from 1854,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a melt, a sandwich topped with melted cheese, is American English by 1956.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – meltan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – to grow tender (figurative).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1781 – to blend into something.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1854 – molten metal (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1956 – a tuna melt (US).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make or become [[liquid]] by heating.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To [[dissolve]]: ''sugar melts in water''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To disappear gradually, with ''away''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To soften in feeling: ''her heart melted''.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A melted substance, or the act or quantity of melting.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(US)'' A sandwich topped with melted cheese.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[meltability]]

+ * [[meltable]]

+ * [[melter]]

+ * [[meltingly]]

+ * [[melty]]

+ * [[meltingness]]

+ * [[meltage]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[smelt]]

+ * [[molten]]

+ * [[mild]]

+ * [[malt]]

+ * [[mollify]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate melt, the spleen of an animal, is a variant of [[milt]], from Old English milte.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}