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melt
melt / melt/ • v. [intr.] 1. become liquefied by heat: place under the broiler until the cheese has melted the icebergs were melting away. ∎ [tr.] change (something) to a liquid condition by heating it: the hot metal melted the wax | [as adj.] (melted) asparagus with melted butter. ∎ [tr.] (melt something down) melt something, esp. a metal article, so that the material it is made of can be used again: beautiful objects are being melted down and sold for scrap. ∎ dissolve in liquid: add a cup of sugar and boil until the sugar melts. 2. become more tender or loving: she was so beautiful that I melted. ∎ [tr.] make (someone) more tender or loving: Richard gave her a smile that melted her heart. 3. [intr.] leave or disappear unobtrusively: the compromise was accepted and the opposition melted away | the figure melted into thin air. ∎ (of a feeling or state) disappear: their original determination to exact vengeance melted away. ∎ (melt into) change or merge imperceptibly into (another form or state): the cheers melted into gasps of admiration. • n. an act of melting: the precipitation falls as snow and is released during the spring melt. ∎ metal or other material in a melted condition. ∎ an amount melted at any one time. ∎ a sandwich, hamburger, or other dish containing or topped with melted cheese: a tuna melt. PHRASES: melt in the (or your) mouth (of food) be deliciously light or tender and need little or no chewing: my shortbread melts in the mouth | [as adj.] melt-in-your-mouth chicken livers. DERIVATIVES: melt·a·ble adj. melt·er n. melt·ing·ly adv. ORIGIN: Old English meltan, mieltan, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse melta ‘to malt, digest,’ from an Indo-European root shared by Greek meldein ‘to melt,’ Latin mollis ‘soft,’ also by malt. |
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"melt." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "melt." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-melt.html "melt." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-melt.html |
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melt
melt liquefy or be liquefied by heat. OE. (1) str. vb. me(a)ltan :- Gmc. *meltan, (2) wk. vb. (Angl.) meltan, (WS.) mieltan = ON. melta digest, malt (grain):- Gmc. *maltjan (cf. ON. maltr rotten, OHG. malz melting, Goth. gamalteins dissolution). The base *melt- *malt- *mult- repr. IE. *meld- *mold- *mll̇d-, whence Gr. méldein melt, L. mollis, Skr. mrl̇dú soft. The str. pp. molten survives as adj.
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T. F. HOAD. "melt." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "melt." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-melt.html T. F. HOAD. "melt." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-melt.html |
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melt
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "melt." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "melt." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-melt.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "melt." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-melt.html |
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melt
melt •gestalt • asphalt
•belt, Celt, dealt, dwelt, felt, gelt, knelt, melt, misdealt, pelt, Scheldt, smelt, spelt, svelte, veld, welt
•fan belt • seat belt • lifebelt • sunbelt
•rust belt • Copperbelt • heartfelt
•underfelt • backveld • bushveld
•Roosevelt
•atilt, built, gilt, guilt, hilt, jilt, kilt, lilt, quilt, silt, spilt, stilt, tilt, upbuilt, wilt
•Vanderbilt • volte
•assault, Balt, exalt, fault, halt, malt, salt, smalt, vault
•cobalt • stringhalt • basalt
•somersault • polevault
•bolt, colt, dolt, holt, jolt, moult (US molt), poult, smolt, volt
•deadbolt • Humboldt • thunderbolt
•megavolt • spoilt • Iseult
•consult, cult, exult, indult, insult, penult, result, ult
•adult • occult • tumult • catapult
•difficult • Hasselt
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Cite this article
"melt." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "melt." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-melt.html "melt." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-melt.html |
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