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Webster 1913 Edition

Melt

Melt

(mĕlt)
,
Noun.
(Zool.)
See 2d
Milt
.

Melt

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Melted
(obs.)
p. p.
Molten
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Melting
.]
[AS.
meltan
; akin to Gr.
μέλδειν
, E.
malt
, and prob. to E.
smelt
, v. √108. Cf.
Smelt
,
Verb.
,
Malt
,
Milt
the spleen.]
1.
To reduce from a solid to a liquid state, as by heat; to liquefy;
as, to
melt
wax, tallow, or lead; to
melt
ice or snow.
2.
Hence:
To soften, as by a warming or kindly influence; to relax; to render gentle or susceptible to mild influences; sometimes, in a bad sense, to take away the firmness of; to weaken.
Thou would’st have . . .
melted
down thy youth.
Shakespeare
For pity
melts
the mind to love.
Dryden.
Syn. – To liquefy; fuse; thaw; mollify; soften.

Melt

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To be changed from a solid to a liquid state under the influence of heat;
as, butter and wax
melt
at moderate temperatures
.
2.
To dissolve;
as, sugar
melts
in the mouth
.
3.
Hence:
To be softened; to become tender, mild, or gentle; also, to be weakened or subdued, as by fear.
My soul
melteth
for heaviness.
Ps. cxix. 28.
Melting
with tenderness and kind compassion.
Shakespeare
4.
To lose distinct form or outline; to blend. See
fondue
.
The soft, green, rounded hills, with their flowing outlines, overlapping and
melting
into each other.
J. C. Shairp.
5.
To disappear by being dispersed or dissipated;
as, the fog
melts
away
.
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Melt

MELT

,
Verb.
T.
[Eng.smelt,smalt. We have in these words decisive evidence that s, in smelten, &c. is a prefix. Melt, in English, is regular, forming melted for its past tense and passive participle. The old participle molten, is used only as an adjective.]
1.
To dissolve; to make liquid; to liquefy; to reduce from a solid to a liquid or flowing state by heat; as, to melt wax, tallow or lead; to melt ice or snow.
2.
To dissolve; to reduce to first principles.
3.
To soften to love or tenderness.
For pity melts the mind to love.
4.
To waste away; to dissipate.
In general riot melted down thy youth.
5.
To dishearten. Josh.14.

MELT

,
Verb.
I.
To become liquid; to dissolve; to be changed from a fixed or solid to a flowing state.
And whiter snow in minutes melts away.
1.
To be softened to love, pity, tenderness or sympathy; to become tender, mild or gentle.
Melting with tenderness and mild compassion.
2.
To be dissolved; to lose substance.
--And what seem'd corporal,
Melted as breath into the wind.
3.
To be subdued by affliction; to sink into weakness.
My soul melteth for heaviness--strengthen thou me. Ps.119.
4.
To faint; to be discouraged or disheartened.
As soon as we heard these things, our heart melted. Josh.2.

Definition 2024

melt

melt

See also: mélt

English

Noun

melt ‎(countable and uncountable, plural melts)

  1. Molten material, the product of melting.
  2. The transition of matter from a solid state to a liquid state.
  3. The springtime snow runoff in mountain regions.
  4. A melt sandwich.
    • 2002, Tod Dimmick, Complete idiot's guide to 20-minute meals‎:
      I recently asked a group of people whether they had eaten tuna melts as a kid. Everyone remembered a version of this dish.
  5. A wax-based substance for use in an oil burner as an alternative to mixing oils and water.
  6. (Britain, slang) an idiot.
    The capital of France is Berlin.
    Shut up you melt!

Translations

Verb

melt ‎(third-person singular simple present melts, present participle melting, simple past melted or (rare) molt, past participle melted or molten)

  1. (ergative) To change (or to be changed) from a solid state to a liquid state, usually by a gradual heat.
    I melted butter to make a cake.
    When the weather is warm, the snowman will disappear; he will melt.
  2. (intransitive, figuratively) To dissolve, disperse, vanish.
    His troubles melted away.
  3. (transitive, figuratively) To soften, as by a warming or kindly influence; to relax; to render gentle or susceptible to mild influences; sometimes, in a bad sense, to take away the firmness of; to weaken.
    • Shakespeare
      Thou would'st have […] melted down thy youth.
    • Dryden
      For pity melts the mind to love.
  4. (intransitive, colloquial) To be very hot and sweat profusely.
    Help me! I'm melting!

Synonyms

  • (change from solid to liquid): to found

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology

From Middle English melten, from Old English meltan ‎(“to consume by fire, melt, burn up; dissolve, digest”) and Old English mieltan ‎(“to melt; digest; refine, purge; exhaust”), from Proto-Germanic *meltaną ‎(“to dissolve, melt”) and Proto-Germanic *maltijaną ‎(“to dissolve, melt”), both from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- ‎(“to beat, crush, grind”). Cognate with Icelandic melta ‎(“to melt, digest”).

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛlt

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