melt English · revision 13544

− 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)