Etymology

melt

M3E1L1T1

Today it means: To change (or to be changed) from a solid state to a liquid state, usually by a gradual heat. Full definition →

Middle English melten ← Old English meltan ← Proto-West Germanic *meltan
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)meld-“melt”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*meltaną
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*meltan
  4. Old English · inherited frommeltan
  5. Middle English · inherited frommelten
  6. English todaymelt

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”).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*meltaną all →

molten

Proto-Indo-European*(s)meld- all →

emailmullermilt

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.