melt

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Melted (obs.) p. p. Molten p. pr. & vb. n. Melting. ] [ AS. meltan; akin to Gr. me`ldein, E. malt, and prob. to E. smelt, v. √108. Cf. Smelt, v., 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou would'st have . . . melted down thy youth. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

For pity melts the mind to love. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To liquefy; fuse; thaw; mollify; soften. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To dissolve; as, sugar melts in the mouth. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence: To be softened; to become tender, mild, or gentle; also, to be weakened or subdued, as by fear. [ 1913 Webster ]

My soul melteth for heaviness. Ps. cxix. 28. [ 1913 Webster ]

Melting with tenderness and kind compassion. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To lose distinct form or outline; to blend. See fondue. [ 1913 Webster ]

The soft, green, rounded hills, with their flowing outlines, overlapping and melting into each other. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To disappear by being dispersed or dissipated; as, the fog melts away. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being melted. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, melts. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Liquefaction; the act of causing (something) to melt, or the process of becoming melted. [ 1913 Webster ]

Melting point (Chem.), the degree of temperature at which a solid substance melts or fuses; as, the melting point of ice is 0° Centigrade or 32° Fahr., that of urea is 132° Centigrade. Pressure affects the melting point somewhat, and if not specified the melting point is usually taken to be at atmospheric pressure. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Causing to melt; becoming melted; -- used literally or figuratively; as, a melting heat; a melting appeal; a melting mood. -- Melt"ing*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. 1. A vessel in which anything is melted; a crucible. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Sociology) (fig.) A place where people of different backgrounds become similar in culture. The United States has often been referred to as a melting pot, though the differences in cultures of recently arrived immigrants persists beyond the generation of immigrants. [ PJC ]