schmelzen
German
editAlternative forms
edit- schmilzen (colloquial only, nonstandard)
Pronunciation
editEtymology 1
editFrom Middle High German smelzen, from Old High German smelzan, from Proto-West Germanic *smeltan.
Akin to Old Saxon smeltan. Cognate with English smelt, Danish smelte, Dutch smelten, German Low German smölten. Through the meaning of soften: compare Old Church Slavonic младъ (mladŭ) (whence младость (mladostĭ, “softness”)), Latin mollis (“soft”).
Verb
editschmelzen (class 3 strong, third-person singular present schmilzt, past tense schmolz, past participle geschmolzen, past subjunctive schmölze, auxiliary haben or sein)
- (intransitive) to melt; to liquefy [auxiliary sein]
- (intransitive, figuratively) to dwindle; to melt away [auxiliary sein]
- (transitive) to melt; to liquefy [auxiliary haben]
Usage notes
edit- Transitive use is less common and is historically derived from confusion with the following weak verb; in contemporary language, schmelzen lassen (literally “make melt”) is preferred instead.
Conjugation
editinfinitive | schmelzen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | schmelzend | ||||
past participle | geschmolzen | ||||
auxiliary | haben or sein | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich schmelze | wir schmelzen | i | ich schmelze | wir schmelzen |
du schmilzt | ihr schmelzt | du schmelzest | ihr schmelzet | ||
er schmilzt | sie schmelzen | er schmelze | sie schmelzen | ||
preterite | ich schmolz | wir schmolzen | ii | ich schmölze1 | wir schmölzen1 |
du schmolzest du schmolzt |
ihr schmolzt | du schmölzest1 du schmölzt1 |
ihr schmölzet1 ihr schmölzt1 | ||
er schmolz | sie schmolzen | er schmölze1 | sie schmölzen1 | ||
imperative | schmilz (du) | schmelzt (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editEtymology 2
editCausative of the previous verb.
Verb
editschmelzen (weak, third-person singular present schmelzt, past tense schmelzte, past participle geschmelzt, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to melt; to liquefy
- 1781, Die Räuber, Schiller, act 3 scene 2:
- ihr Anblick schmelzte die Vorurteile des Adels hinweg.
- The sight of her melted away all the prejudices kept by the nobility
- (transitive, metallurgy) to smelt; to fuse
Usage notes
editOften replaced by the previous strong verb, particularly in the past and perfect tense.
Conjugation
editinfinitive | schmelzen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | schmelzend | ||||
past participle | geschmelzt | ||||
auxiliary | haben | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich schmelze | wir schmelzen | i | ich schmelze | wir schmelzen |
du schmelzt | ihr schmelzt | du schmelzest | ihr schmelzet | ||
er schmelzt | sie schmelzen | er schmelze | sie schmelzen | ||
preterite | ich schmelzte | wir schmelzten | ii | ich schmelzte1 | wir schmelzten1 |
du schmelztest | ihr schmelztet | du schmelztest1 | ihr schmelztet1 | ||
er schmelzte | sie schmelzten | er schmelzte1 | sie schmelzten1 | ||
imperative | schmelz (du) schmelze (du) |
schmelzt (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Further reading
edit- German 2-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Old High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- German lemmas
- German verbs
- German strong verbs
- German class 3 strong verbs
- German verbs using haben as auxiliary
- German verbs using sein as auxiliary
- German verbs using haben and sein as auxiliary
- German intransitive verbs
- German transitive verbs
- German weak verbs
- German terms with quotations
- de:Metallurgy