Melt , 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.
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.
Shak.
4. To lose distinct form or outline; to blend.
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.
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.
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.
Shak. For pity melts the mind to love.
Dryden. Syn. -- To liquefy; fuse; thaw; mollify; soften.
Melt (m&ebreve;lt), n. (Zoöl.) See 2d Milt.
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