smelt

Etymology 1

From Middle English smelt, from Old English smelt, from Proto-Germanic *smeltaz.

noun

1. Any small anadromous fish of the family Osmeridae, found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and in lakes in North America and northern part of Europe.
2. (obsolete) A fool; a simpleton.

Etymology 2

From very early Middle English smel; likely to derive from Old English, but not recorded.

verb

1. simple past and past participle of smell

Etymology 3

From Middle Dutch smelten (“to melt”) or Middle Low German smelten (“to melt”), from Old Dutch *smeltan or Old Saxon smeltan, both from Proto-West Germanic *smeltan, from Proto-Germanic *smeltaną (“to melt”). Related to English melt and Old English meltan (“to melt”). Cognate to Dutch smelten, German schmelzen.

noun

1. Production of metal, especially iron, from ore in a process that involves melting and chemical reduction of metal compounds into purified metal.
2. Any of the various liquids or semi-molten solids produced and used during the course of such production.
   1982, Raymond E. Kirk and Donald F. Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Wiley, →ISBN, page 405, The green liquor, ie, [sic] the solution obtained on dissolving the smelt, contains an insoluble residue called dregs, which gives it a dark green appearance.
   1996, Arthur J. Wilson, The Living Rock: The Story of Metals Since Earliest Time and Their Impact on Civilization, When the smelt was complete the crucible could be lifted out and the metal poured directly into the moulds, thus avoiding the need to break it up and remelt […]
   2000, Julian Henderson, The Science and Archaeology of Materials: An Investigation of Inorganic Materials, […] can vary in different positions in the furnace and during the smelt. Furnaces are unlikely to survive the smelts; all that often remains on metal production sites is just furnace bases and broken fragments of furnaces […]
   2002, Jenny Moore, “Who Lights the Fire? Gender and the Energy of Production”, in Moira Donald and Linda Hurcombe (eds.), Gender and Material Culture in Archaeological Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 130, Women are allowed to play some small part in the smelt if they are breastfeeding or post-menopausal (van der Merwe and Avery, 1988).

verb

1. To fuse or melt two things into one, especially in order to extract metal from ore; to meld.