Where does “smelt” come from?
smelt (Middle English) comes from Old English smelt, from Proto-West Germanic *smelt, from Proto-Germanic smeltaz, from Proto-Germanic smeltaną, from Proto-Indo-European (s)meld- — to soften, to melt.
smelt (Middle English): smelt
Ancestry of “smelt”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | smelt | — |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *smelt | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | smeltaz | smelt |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | smeltaną | to melt |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)meld- | to soften, to melt |
Words derived from “smelt”