melten

See also: Melten

Middle English

Alternative forms

• malte, melt, melte, meltyn
• mealten, melltenn (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English meltan (strong class 3), from Proto-West Germanic *meltan, from Proto-Germanic *meltaną; reinforced by Old English mieltan, myltan (weak class 1).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛltən/

Verb

melten (third-person singular simple present melteth, present participle meltynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative malt, past participle molten)

1. To melt (change from solid to liquid):
   1. To blend or fuse (of metal or glass).
   2. (by extension) To dissolve, disperse, or vanish.
2. To mollify; to repent or become caring:
   1. To cause to repent or become caring.
   2. To weaken; to be sapped of strength.
3. To decay; to become wasted or decomposed.
4. (rare) To be heated (of meat).

Conjugation

Conjugation of melten (strong class 3 or weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) melten, melte
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	melte	malt, melted
2nd-person singular	meltest	molte, melte, malt, meltedest
3rd-person singular	melteth	malt, melted
subjunctive singular	melte	molte1, melte1, melted1
imperative singular		—
plural2	melten, melte	molten, molte, melten, melte, melteden, meltede
imperative plural	melteth, melte	—
participles	meltynge, meltende	molten, molte, melten, melte, melted

¹Replaced by the indicative in later Middle English.
²Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: melt
• Scots: melt
• Yola: multh

References

• “melten, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.