melt

B1 Topic:Cooking & Baking

US /mɛlt/ See IPA manual

Freq #5762

Meanings

1

verb
To turn from solid into liquid, usually because of heat.

I melted some butter in the pan to make the sauce.
2

verb
To gradually disappear or fade away.

His anger melted away as soon as he saw her smile.
3

verb
To be filled with warm, tender feelings.

She melted when she read the loving message in the card.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to turn from solid into... dissolve thaw

2 verb · to gradually disappear or... disappear evaporate

Word family

Forms meltedmeltingmeltsmolten

Derived forms brain-meltingdeadmeltface-meltingformelthigh-meltinghotmelticemeltlow-meltingmeldmeltabilitymeltablemeltage

Related forms smelt

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

melt ice
to cause ice to change from solid to liquid by applying heat or a chemical

Verb + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

butter wouldn't melt in his mouth
he looks perfectly innocent or gentle despite behaving quite differently

Simplified etymology

Melt is an Old English Germanic word. At a deeper level, it shares an Indo-European root with Latin mollis, “soft,” the source associated with mollusc, mollify, and emollient.

Etymology

From Middle English melten, from a merger of Old English meltan (intransitive) and mieltan (transitive), both meaning “to melt, digest,” from Proto-West Germanic *meltan and *maltijan, from Proto-Germanic *meltaną and *maltijaną, both from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- (“melt”). Cognate with Icelandic melta (“to digest”).

*(s)meld- Proto-Indo-European melten Middle English meltan Old English *meltan Proto-West Germanic *meltaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cooking & Baking Actions & Processes

External links

# melt

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /mɛlt/
**Frequency rank:** 5762

## Meanings
1. To turn from solid into liquid, usually because of heat.
2. To gradually disappear or fade away.
3. To be filled with warm, tender feelings.

## Examples
- I melted some butter in the pan to make the sauce.
- His anger melted away as soon as he saw her smile.
- She melted when she read the loving message in the card.

## Derived Forms
- brain-melting
- deadmelt
- face-melting
- formelt
- high-melting
- hotmelt
- icemelt
- low-melting
- meld
- meltability
- meltable
- meltage

## Related Forms
- smelt

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(s)meld-
- Root: melten
- Root: meltan
- Root: *meltan
- Root: *meltaną

## Etymology
From Middle English melten, from a merger of Old English meltan (intransitive) and mieltan (transitive), both meaning “to melt, digest,” from Proto-West Germanic *meltan and *maltijan, from Proto-Germanic *meltaną and *maltijaną, both from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- (“melt”). Cognate with Icelandic melta (“to digest”).

## AI Etymology
Melt comes from Middle English melten, from a merger of Old English meltan (intransitive) and mieltan (transitive), both meaning “to melt, digest,” from Proto-West Germanic *meltan and *maltijan, from Proto-Germanic *meltaną and *maltijaną, both from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meld- (“melt”). Cognate with Icelandic melta (“to digest”). In present-day English its meanings include to turn from solid into liquid, usually because of heat, to gradually disappear or fade away, and to be filled with warm, tender feelings. The historical chain runs through *(s)meld- (Proto-Indo-European), melten (Middle English), meltan (Old English), *meltan (Proto-West Germanic), and *meltaną (Proto-Germanic).

## Topics
- Cooking & Baking
- Actions & Processes

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