▪ I. † melt, n.1 Obs.
[Fr., a. Mexican metl.]
= maguey.
| 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. i. Eden 606 There mounts the Melt [Fr. Là se pousse le Melt] which serves in Mexico For weapon, wood, needle, and threed (to sowe). |
▪ II. † melt, n.2 Obs.
(See quot.)
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 177/1 Melt of Sheep, an abundance of Blood which must be taken from them. |
▪ III. melt, n.3
(mɛlt)
[f. melt v.1]
1. Phr. on the melt: in the process of melting.
| 1897 Blackmore in Blackw. Mag. Sept. 362 The rush of two streams into one another, both being buxom with snow on the melt. |
2. Metal or other substance in a melted condition. Also fig.
| 1854 Pharmac. Jrnl. XIII. 432 The ‘melt’ obtained in the manufacture of Ferrocyanide of Potassium. 1868 Whitman To Working Men 6 Iron works..men around feeling the melt with huge crowbars. 1886 E. Knecht tr. Benedikt's Coal-tar Colours 216 Melting with caustic acid... The melt is then allowed to cool. 1962 Simpson & Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors iii. 39 A small single crystal, known as the seed crystal, is inserted in the melt and withdrawn slowly in the vertical direction... A large single crystal having the same orientation as the seed is thus formed. 1966 New Statesman 22 Apr. 591/2 Pan American has now chucked a large, expected crystal into the melt by ordering 25 jumbo-jets from Boeing. 1971 Nature 8 Jan. 80/3 In the Vale of York, the most densely populated area liable to flooding discussed in the report, the chief culprits are snow melt..and violent thunderstorms. 1971 I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth i. 17/1 The composition of the olivine formed by crystallization from a silicate melt is of course a function of the availability of the two elements. |
3. A quantity of metal melted at one operation.
| 1886 Rep. Sec. of Treasury 175 (Cent.) 12,867 melts of ingots were made for coinage during the year. 1890 A. H. Hiorns Mixed Metals 309 The 75,000 ounces of gold were divided into 14 ‘melts’ of 5,400 ounces each, and each melt separately toughened. 1904 Internat. Libr. Technol., Specif. 61 Melt, a charge of metal placed in a cupola or pot for melting. The product of such a charge is also called a melt. |
4. The quantity melted within a certain period.
| 1903 Daily Rec. & Mail 28 Dec. 2/3 The melt of this class of iron, especially in Scotland, has been exceptionally heavy. |
5. Special Comb.: melt spinning, the process of extruding a substance (esp. a polymer) which has been softened by heat through a spinneret so as to form a fibre; hence (as back-formations) melt-spin v. trans., melt-spun ppl. a.; melt-water Geol., water resulting from the melting of ice or snow, esp. that of a glacier.
| 1950 R. W. Moncrieff Artificial Fibres xvii. 197 Nylon is *melt spun. 1973 Materials & Technol. VI. iv. 325 The molten polymer produced is melt-spun directly. |
| 1939 W. W. Triggs Brit. Pat. 528,455 27 Apr., In *melt spinning, the spinneret is generally placed so that the filaments fall vertically from the spinneret. 1963 A. J. Hall Textile Sci. ii. 75 With the introduction of nylon an entirely new method of fibre-spinning was established—so-called melt-spinning in which the polymer..is melted in a novel device above the spinneret so that it can by means of a pump be extruded through the multi-holed spinneret into cold air to ensure the immediate solidification of the issuing fluid streams into filaments. 1973 Materials & Technol. VI. iv. 297 Melt spinning is used for the majority of thermoplastic man-made fibre-forming materials. |
| 1948 Schmidt & Marlies Princ. High-Polymer Theory & Pract. viii. 340 Nylon, polyvinylidene-vinyl chloride (e.g. saran), and Fiberglas are commercially important examples of *melt-spun fibers. 1962 Economist 20 Jan. 241/1 Part of the industry where there was overlapping of effort, namely the melt-spun fibre field. |
| 1934 Geogr. Jrnl. LXXXIII. 79 The amount of *melt-water is so great that temporary rivers and lakes form. 1970 Nature 24 Oct. 352/1 Because most of the volcano is covered by glaciers, a great deal of melt-water has caused floods. 1973 C. Bonington Next Horizon x. 144 The face of the Pillar was sheer, clean and dry, but the slabby flanks were dotted with snow patches and running with melt water. |
▪ IV. melt, v.1
(mɛlt)
Pa. tense melted. Pa. pple. melted, molten. Forms: 1 melt-, mielt-, milt-, myltan, 2–3 mealten, melten, 3 i-multen, Orm. melltenn, 3–6 melte, 4 meelte, 4–5 malt(e, 4–6 mylt(e, (5 molte, multe, 6 mealt, moult), 4– melt. pa. tense 1 mealt (pl. multon), (ᵹe)melte, 3–5 malt(e, 4 meltit, moltid, 5 meltid, 5–6 molte, 6 moulte, molted, 6– melted. pa. pple. 1 ᵹemolten, ᵹemylted, 3 imealt, imelte, imolte, 4 meltid(e, meltyn, moltid, multen, mylt, 4–5 moltyn(e, 4–6 molte, 5 molton, moltynnyd, multyn, 5–7 melt, 6 melten, molted, arch. ymolt, 5–7 molt, moult, 7 moulten, 8 arch. ymolten, 4– molten, 6– melted.
[Originally two distinct vbs.: (1) the intransitive strong vb. OE. meltan (pa. tense mealt, pl. multon, pa. ppl. ᵹemolten); (2) the weak vb. (causative of the former) OE. mieltan, myltan (:—prehistoric *mealtjan, *maltjan) corresponding to ON. melta to digest, to malt (grain), Goth. *maltjan to dissolve, whence gamalteins vbl. n., dissolution (transl. of ἀνάλυσις 2 Tim. iv. 6). In OE. the strong vb. was always intransitive; the weak vb. was normally transitive, but sometimes intransitive. In ME. the strong and weak inflexions were used indiscriminately, the former becoming gradually less frequent. In the 16th c. the strong pa. tense (in the form molte, from the analogy of the pa. pple.) was used poet. by a few writers, but was not generally current. The strong pa. pple. is now only poet. and rhetorical exc. as adj. (see molten ppl. a.), and even in that use is merely literary.
The root OTeut. *melt- (: malt-: mult-), whence also malt n.1, represents an Indogerm. *meld- (: mold-: mld-), whence Gr. µέλδειν to melt, Skr. mṛdu soft, L. mollis. It is prob. a variant of OTeut. smelt- (: Indogerm. *smeld-): see smelt v.]
I. Intransitive senses.
1. a. To become liquefied by heat. to melt away: be destroyed or wasted by being melted.
| Beowulf 3011 Ne scel anes hwæt meltan mid þam modiᵹan. a 900 O.E. Martyrol. 9 Mar. 38 Þa on niht com leoht of heofonum swa hat swa sunne bið on sumera, ond þæt is ᵹemelte, ond þæt wæter wearð wearm. c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) lvii. 7 Swa weax melteð. a 1225 Juliana 20 His mod feng to heaten ant his meari to melten [Bodl. MS. mealten]. c 1290 St. Christopher 200 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 277 Þo he was i-leid þar-on, As wex þat gredile malt awei. 1382 Wyclif Exod. xvi. 21 Whanne the sunne bigan to heet, it moltid [1530 Tindale, it moulte]. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 355 Whanne þat frost gan to þawe and to melte [v.rr. multe, molte, mylte]. c 1450 Two Cookery-bks. 86 Take faire grece..and sette ouer þe fyre til hit mylte. c 1460 Launfal 740 Hyt malt as snow ayens the sunne. 1575 Gascoigne Fruits of Warre, xlviii, Flowers 123 Whose greace hath molt all caffed as it was. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 206 When the snow melts from the Mountaines. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Metals, When the copper and arsenic are mixed, the tin is to be put in; this soon melts. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. iii. 241 Ice before it melts attains a temperature of 30° Fahr. |
b. In jocular hyperbole: To perspire excessively, to suffer extreme heat.
| 1787 Colman Inkle & Yarico iii. i, A..black boar..came down the hill in a jog trot! My master melted as fast as a pot of pomatum. 1820 Keats Lett., to Miss F. Brawne Mar. (1895) 476, I have no need of an enchanted wax figure to duplicate me, for I am melting in my proper person before the fire. |
2. a. To become disintegrated, liquefied, or softened, e.g. by the agency of moisture; to be dissolved. to melt in the mouth: said of articles of food that are extremely tender. † In OE. of food: To be digested.
| a 1000 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 235/33 Fatiscit,..dissoluitur,..mylt. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 196 Late mylt hryþeres flæsc. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §16 The clottes kepe the wheate warme all wynter, and at Marche they wyll melte and breake, and fal in manye small peces. 1693 Evelyn De La Quint. Compl. Gard., Melons 1 [Melons] which be..dry, yet melting in the Mouth. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. iv. 19 Can she make your real flecky paste, as melts in your mouth and lies all up like a puff? |
† b. Of the body: To undergo corruption, to waste away. Obs.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 76/198 A slouȝ feuere..made is bodi to melte a-wei. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. lxvi. (1495) 283 He that is bytten of a Cokatryce meltyth and swellyth and castyth venym and deyeth sodaynly. |
c. Of clouds, vapour: To dissolve, be evaporated or dispersed; to break or dissolve into rain.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2080 Mist muged on þe mor, malt on þe mountez. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. vii. 98 A great aboundance of vapours from the Earth and Ocean..melt into water. 1814 Byron Lara ii. i, The vapours round the mountains curl'd Melt into morn, and Light awakes the world. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xiv. 96 The dense clouds which had crammed the gorge..melted away. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xxiv, The clouds had melted into a small and chilling rain. |
d. To vanish, disappear. Also const. away.
| 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iii. iii. 37 With shriekes She melted into Ayre. 1611 ― Cymb. i. iii. 20, I would haue..followed him, till he had melted from The smalnesse of a Gnat, to ayre. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xiv. 123 When caught, she melted from them again like a summer cloud. 1934 A. Thirkell Wild Strawberries vi. 118 David..melted from the room. 1957 C. MacInnes City of Spades i. viii. 58, I could see no sign of Hamilton, and hoped he'd melted. 1959 M. Dolinsky There is no Silence iv. 61 What friends?.. They melted with the first headline. 1970 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Cookie Bird vii. 72 People had started to melt, walking fast round the side of the house. 1975 P. Somerville-Large Couch of Earth iii. 48 Otway came bursting out... The girl melted away immediately. |
3. Of a person, his ‘soul’ or ‘heart’, feelings, etc. † a. To be overwhelmed with dismay or grief.
The idiom is app. native, though the examples in the versions of the Bible are literal translations from the Hebrew.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) lxx. 8 Þonne me mæᵹen and mod mylte on hreðre, ne forlæt þu me, lifiende God. c 1350 Will. Palerne 434, & seþþe sike i & sing samen to-gedere, & melt neiȝh for mournying & moche ioie make. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 276 She is in so greet turment..whan folk doth good, That nigh she melteth for pure wood. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxviii. (Adrian) 470 Þat his hart for dred suld melt. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 75 My herte for wo molte. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Ps. cxix. 28 My soule melteth [1535 Coverdale, melteth away] for heauines. 1611 Bible Josh. ii. 11 Our hearts did melt. |
b. To become softened by compassion, or love; to yield to entreaty; to ‘dissolve’ in or into tears.
| c 1200 Vices & Virtues 145 Þat hie mihte nexxin and mealten and ut-sanden sume tear. a 1225 Ancr. R. 110 Þet on was his moderes wop, & þe oðres Maries, þæt fleoweden & melten al of teares. 13.. Cristene-mon & Jew 97 (Vern. MS.) Þe cristen mon mildely gon malt. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 339 (367) Troylus, þat felte His frend Pandare y-comen hym to se Gan as þe snow a-yen þe sonne melte. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xvi. (Percy Soc.) 71 Harde is the heart that no love hath felt Nor for to love wyl than encline and melt. 1563 Sackville Induct. lxxviii. in Mirr. Mag. R iv b, My hart so molte to see his griefe so great. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 22 Melting in teares, then gan shee thus lament. 1595 Shakes. John v. ii. 47 My heart hath melted at a Ladies teares. 1637 Milton Lycidas 163 Look homeward Angel now, and melt with ruth. 1647 Sprigge Anglia Rediv. ii. ii. (1854) 80 And the governor so far melted as to send forth Tom Elliot in haste. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 104 ¶7 She melted into a Flood of Tears. 1857 Reade Course True Love 178 His resolve melted at this. 1862 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xiv. viii. (1872) V. 249 Each had his own causes of regret, and each melted into tears. 1888 Burgon Lives 12 Gd. Men I. iii. 341 At sight of the dusty..urchins, his heart evidently melted. |
c. to melt away: To be ‘dissolved’ in ecstasy.
| 1711 Addison Spect. No. 159 ¶2 (Vis. Mirza), My Heart melted away in secret Raptures. 1746 Collins Ode to Pity vii, There let me oft, retir'd by day In dreams of passion melt away. a 1761 Cawthorn Poems (1771) 58 How weak fair faith and virtue prove When Eloisa melts away in love! |
4. a. To waste away, become gradually smaller; to dwindle. Now chiefly with away. † Occas. of a swelling, to melt down.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 268 Herdeliche ileueð þet al þe deofles strencðe melteð þuruh þe grace of þe holi sacrament. a 1225 St. Marher. 6 Þi mihte schal unmuchelin ant melten to riht noht. a 1250 Prov. ælfred 385 in O.E. Misc. 126 And vyches cunnes madmes to mixe schulen i-Multen. a 1400 St. Erkenwolde 158 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 269 He has not layne here so longe, to loke hit by kynde, To malte so out of memorie. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cvii. ix, Their might doth melt, their courage dies. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. xiii. 90 Authority melts from me of late. 1629 Milton Hymn Nativ. 138 Leprous sin will melt from earthly mould, And Hell it self will pass away. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 166 His huge Army melted away, and quickly became less numerous. 1762 R. Guy Pract. Obs. Cancers 156 By Degrees the hard Tumour entirely melted down. 1794 Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 213 The body of his party is melting away very fast. 1818 Byron Ch. Har. iv. xii, Nations melt From power's high pinnacle, when they have felt The sunshine for a while. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiii. III. 377 The host which had been the terror of Scotland melted fast away. 1860 Reade Cloister & H. lxxviii. (1896) 223 While her heart was troubled, her money was melting. 1891 Leeds Mercury 27 Apr. 5/2 There was a surplus of fifty-seven million dollars when President Harrison took office, and it has all melted away. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 279 Tumours in muscle, which will wholly melt away under the influence of iodide of potassium, are sometimes [etc.]. |
b. slang. Of money: To be spent on drink. (Cf. 13.)
| 1765 Foote Commissary i. i, Give him the sixpence; there, there, lay it out as you will. Coachm. It will be to your health, mistress; it shall melt at the Meuse, before I go home. |
5. To filter in, become absorbed into. Also fig.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1566, & make þe mater to malt my mynde wyth-inne. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ix. 31 His subtile tong like dropping honny mealt'h Into the heart, and searcheth every vaine. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. ii. I. 40 It was by such institutions that the nations of the empire insensibly melted away into the Roman name and people. 1821 Shelley Epipsych. 110 Like fiery dews that melt Into the bosom of a frozen bud. |
6. Of sound: To be soft and liquid.
| 1626, etc. [see melting ppl. a. 1 c]. 1713 Young Force Relig. i, She clasps her lord, brave, beautiful, and young, While tender accents melt upon her tongue. 1792 S. Rogers Pleas. Mem. ii. 38 With rapt ear drink the enchanting serenade, And as it melts along the moonlight-glade [etc.]. |
7. To pass by imperceptible degrees into something else.
| 1781 Cowper Retirement 424 Downs..That melt and fade into the distant sky. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk., Rip Van Winkle ¶2 Where the blue tints of the upland melt away into the fresh green of the nearer landscape. 1865 J. Thomson Sunday up River iii. ii, The vague vast grey Melts into azure dim on high. |
II. Transitive senses.
8. a. To reduce to a liquid condition by heat.
| a 1000 Elene 1311 (Gr.) Gold..þurh ofnes fyr eall ᵹeclænsod amered & ᵹemylted. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 366 Nim leon ᵹelynde & heortes mearᵹ mylt & ᵹemeng tosomne. c 1200 Ormin 17415, & badd he shollde melltenn brass & geten himm a neddre. a 1225 Ancr. R. 284 Þe caliz was imelt iðe fure & stroncliche iwelled. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 10 The goldtressed Phebus heighe on lofte Thries hadde al with his bemes clere The snowes molte. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xx. (Blasius) 237 Þe presydent with fellone will gert melt leyd in fusione. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame ii. 414 Nyse ykarus, That fleegh so high that the hete Hys wynges malte. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. iv. xxi. 1895 All the metall moltynnyd than In tyll a qwerne togydder ran. 1444 Rolls of Parlt. V. 109/1 That no white money..be broke nor molte for the cause above said. 1474 Caxton Recuyell (ed. Sommer) 18 Saturne..malte and fyned gold and metalles. a 1562 G. Cavendish Wolsey (1893) 267 Rather than I wold..embesell or deceyve hyme of a myght, I wold it ware molt and put in my mouthe. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Aurum..fusile, that may be molted. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. xi. 25 As a thonder-bolt..doth displace The soring clouds into sad showres ymolt. 1593 B. Barnes Parthenophil (Arb.) Sonn. xliv, Whose might all metals' mass asunder moults! 1614 Sco. Venus (1876) 35 Or had the bed bene burnt with wilde fire all, And thereby moult the heauens golden frame. 1647 H. More Poems Notes 362 note, Ice..once melt by the warmth of the Sunne it becomes one with the rest of the Sea. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 562 One who..two massie clods of Iron and Brass Had melted. 1681 Hickeringill Black Non-Conf. Postscr., Wks. 1716 II. 171 Go, then, you subtile Persecutors! fret, and be molt in your own fat. a 1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 43 Till the butter is all melted. 1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. i. 5 A sun or planet once molten, would continue for ever molten. 1874 Tait Rec. Adv. Phys. Sci. (1876) 45 Davy showed..that the mere rubbing together by proper mechanical force of two pieces of ice was sufficient to melt the surface of each. |
| absol. 1535 Coverdale Jer. vi. 29 The melter [1611 founder] melteth in vayne. 1683 Pettus Fleta Min. iv. ix. 304, I conclude it better to melt with Coals, than with Moll. |
† b. To melt and refashion into; also, to form (an image, etc.) out of molten material. Obs.
| c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 273 He prayed þat all his tresurs, þat war of grete valow, mott be molten in-to a grete mace. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Isa. xl. 19 The workeman melteth an image. 1573 Cartwright Reply to Whitgift 28 The Jewes when they molted a golden calfe..did neuer thinke that to be God. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. I. 113/1 A brasen image by maruelous art melted and cast. 1582 G. Martin Manif. Corrupt. Script. iii. 56 Behold Eunomius, how he molted and cast a false image, and bowed down to that which he had molten. 1611 Bible Isa. xl. 19. |
c. With advs. to melt away: to remove, destroy, or waste by melting. to melt down: to melt (coin, plate, or other manufactured articles) in order that the metal may be used as raw material. Hence (jocularly), to convert (property) into cash. Also, less frequently, to melt up. to melt in: to melt (a substance) so that it becomes an ingredient of a mixture.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxii. (Justin) 394 He sonnere but delay meltit þane wax in fyre away. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame iii. 59 Thoo gan I in myn herte cast, That they were molte awey with hete, And not awey with stormes bete. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. ii. iv. (1821) 267 Meet to be moulten downe and brought into her majesties mint. a 1704 T. Brown Sat. Fr. King Wks. 1730 I. 60 Old Ierom's volumes next I made a rape on, And melted down that father for a capon. 1721 Berkeley Prev. Ruin Gt. Brit. Wks. 1871 III. 202 A private family in difficult circumstances,..ought to melt down their plate. 1868 Joynson Metals 115 The solder is then..melted in, either with a blow-pipe or by being placed in a charcoal fire. 1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Par. Churches 226 How many bronzes have been melted down to make guns. 1888 J. A. Sparvel-Bayly in Antiquary Dec. 238 Church bells shared the general fate of other church-furniture, and hundreds were sold and melted up. |
d. in jocular hyperbole.
| 1677 W. Hubbard Narrative 40 While Capt. Mosely took a little breath, who was almost melted with labouring, commanding, and leading his men. |
9. a. To dissolve, make a solution of. † Also, in OE., to digest.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxvi. 259 Sua sua sio wamb ᵹemielt ðone mete. c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 6 Malt hit [sc. salt] in bryne. 1610 P. Barrough Meth. Physick vii. v. (1639) 388 A Syrupe is of medicines a juyce with Sugar or Hony molten therin. 1707 Curios in Husb. & Gard. 136 Nitre melted in Water..mixes itself with the Water. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 1012 This re-union, or in the dairy phrase, melting the cream, is probably the best method practised. |
† b. To disintegrate, loosen (soil). Obs.
| 1615 W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 3 The soile is made better by deluing, and other meanes, being well melted. 1708 J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 21 If the Feeders be of any considerable Quantity, it will melt, or dissolve the Earth. |
10. To disperse, cause to disappear. Also with away.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 24470 Þi saul es molten [Gött. multen] al to ded. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. i. v, Comfort's a parasite, a flattering Jack: And melts resolv'd despaire. 1820 Shelley Sensitive Plant iii. 73 [77] At night they [the vapours] were darkness no star could melt. 1865 Parkman Huguenots i. (1875) 8 Cold, disease, famine, thirst, and the fury of the waves, melted them away. |
11. a. To soften or make tender; to ‘touch’ the feelings of (a person). † to melt down: to subdue by softening.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 226 Þanne flaumbeth he as fyre on fader & on filius, And melteth her myȝte in-to mercy. a 1400 Octouian 249 With that anoon hys herte was mylt. 1434 Misyn Mending Life xii. 129 Many truly ar multyn in teris & aftirwarde has turnyd to yll. 1608 Shakes. Per. iv. i. 7 Nor let pittie..melt thee, but be a souldier to thy purpose. 1668 R. Steele Husbandman's Calling x. (1672) 251 You would be melted into submission, not forced: do you the like to them, melt them rather than force them. a 1716 South Serm. (1744) vii. vii. 153 Nothing could have been spoke more gently, and yet more forcibly, to melt him down into a penitential sorrow for, and an abhorrence of those two foul deviations from the law of God. 1738 Wesley Hymns, Infinite Power, Eternal Lord vii, Melt down my Will, and let it flow, And take the Mould divine. 1748 Thomson Cast. Indol. i. viii, Till clustering round th' enchanter false they hung, Ymolten with his syren melody. 1847 Tennyson Princess vi. 103 Her noble heart was molten in her breast. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 434 His solemn and pathetic exhortation awed and melted the bystanders to such a degree that [etc.]. 1891 H. Lynch G. Meredith 88 Rhoda, melted to him, calls her sister down to happiness. |
| absol. 1818 Busby Gram. Mus. 483 A manly, yet tender quality of tone,..which melts and cheers at the same moment. |
b. to melt away: to ‘dissolve into ecstasies’.
| c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 1001 Now certes my soule ys melted awey. 1713 Addison Cato i. iv. 11 Alas, thy Story melts away my Soul. |
† 12. To weaken, enervate. Also, to melt down.
| 1599 Shakes. Much Ado iv. i. 321 Manhood is melted into cursies, valour into complement. 1607 ― Timon iv. iii. 256 Thou would'st haue..melted downe thy youth In different beds of Lust. 1632 Sir R. Le Grys tr. Velleius Paterc. 15 Pharnaces the Mede, deprived Sardanapalus, melted with easefull delicacies [L. mollitiis fluentem],..both of his Empire and life. a 1704 T. Brown Persius' Sat. i. Prol., Nor Virgils great majestick lines Melted into enervate Rhimes. |
13. a. To spend, squander (money). Chiefly slang (spec., with notion of sense 9, to spend on drink); also † to melt away. b. slang. To cash (a cheque or bank-note).
| a 1700 B.E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., Will you Melt a Bord? Will you spend your Shilling? 1705 Penn in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. X. 71 The vast sum of money I have melted away here in London to hinder much mischief against us. 1756 W. Toldervy Hist. 2 Orphans IV. 45 They had the ambition..to melt it [a crown] at Ashley's punch-house upon Ludgate-Hill. 1807 E. S. Barrett Rising Sun I. 134 If Moses [money-lender] does not come soon, all the money will be melted before he brings it. 1868 Reade & Boucicault Foul Play lii, I had him arrested before he had time to melt the notes. 1897 Daily News 5 Oct. 3/5 Another of the 100l. notes was, according to the prisoner's expression, ‘melted’ (i.e. cashed). |
14. To blend into one mass of colour, etc.
| 1778 Sir J. Reynolds Disc. viii. (1876) 456 This effect is produced by melting and losing the shadows in a ground still darker. 1823 F. Clissold Ascent Mt. Blanc 23 The glassy pinnacles of the..Alps,..melting their outlines in the softer tints of evening. 1860 Hawthorne Marb. Faun (1879) II. iv. 49 The words..being softened and molten..into the..richness of the voice that sung them. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xvii, A grey mist..melted whole mountains into a soft dull grey. 1900 Julia Wedgwood in Contemp. Rev. Mar. 336 In him there was a strong revolutionary element, and it is difficult in looking back not to melt it in with the other revolutionary manifestations of the time. |
15. [= ON. melta.] To make (malt); to prepare (barley) for fermentation. Obs. exc. dial. (Yorks.): see E.D.D.
| 1615 Markham Eng. Housew. ii. vii. (1668) 169 The Art of making, or (as some term it) melting of Malt. |
▪ V. melt, v.2 Sc. ? Obs.
trans. ‘To knock down; properly by a stroke in the side, where the melt or spleen lies’ (Jam.).
| a 1585 Polwart Flyting w. Montgomerie 762 Skade scald, ouerbald! soone fald, or I melt thee. 1785 Forbes Ulysses' Answ. in Poems Buchan Dial. 36 But I can..melt them ere they wit; An' syne fan they're dung out o' breath They hae na maughts to hit. |
▪ VI. melt
obs. and dial. variant of milt n.