Smelt definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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Definitions (23)

American Heritage Dictionary (4)

transitive verb To melt or fuse (ores) in order to separate the metallic constituents.
intransitive verb To melt or fuse. Used of ores.
noun Any of various small silvery marine and freshwater food fishes of the family Osmeridae, found in cold waters of the Northern Hemisphere, especially Osmerus mordax of North America and O. eperlanus of Europe.

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Century Dictionary (13)

To fuse; melt; specifically, to treat (ore) in the large way, and chiefly in a furnace or by the aid of heat, for the purpose of separating the contained metal. Metallurgical operations carried on in the moist way, as the amalgamation of gold and silver ores in pans, treatment by lixiviation, etc., are not generally designated by the term smelting. Establishments where this is done are more commonly called mills or reduction-works, and those in which iron is smelted are usually designated as blast-furnaces or iron-furnaces. The various smelting operations differ greatly from each other, according to the nature of the combinations operated on. Simple ores, like galena, require only a very simple series of operations, which are essentially continuous in one and the same furnace; more complicated combinations, like the mixtures of various cupriferous ores smelted at Swansea by the English method, require several successive operations, entirely disconnected from each other, and performed in different furnaces. In the most general way, the essential order of succession of the various processes by which the sulphureted ores (and most ores are sulphurets) are treated is as follows: (1) calcination or roasting, to oxidize and get rid (as far as possible) of the sulphur; (2) reduction of the metal contained in the oxidized combinations obtained; (3) refining, or getting rid of the last traces of deleterious metals associated in the ores with the useful metal, to obtain which is the essential object of the operation.
To fuse; melt; dissolve. Having too much water, many corns will smilt, or have their pulp turned into a substance like thick cream. Mortimer, Husbandry.
Any one of various small fishes. A small fish of the family Argentinidæ and the genus Osmerus, The common European smelt is the sparling, O. eperlanus; it becomes about 10 to 12 inches long, and is of an olive-green above and a silvery white below, with a silver longitudinal lateral band. It exhales when fresh a peculiar scent suggesting the cucumber. This fish is prized as a delicacy. The corresponding American smelt is O. mordax, of the Atlantic coast from Virginia northward, anadromous to some extent, and otherwise very similar to the sparling. There are several true smelts of the Pacific coast of North America, as O. thaleichthys, the Californian smelts and O. dentex, the Alaska smelt. Hence— Any other species of the family Argentinidæ related to the smelt, such as the Hypomesus pretiosus or olidus, also called surf-smelt, which is distinguished from the true smelts by having the dorsal mostly advanced beyond the ventrals and by the much smaller mouth and weak teeth. It inhabits the Pacific coast of the United States from California northward, reaches a length of about 12 inches, and is highly esteemed as a food-fish. In California, any species of the family Atherinidæ, resembling the true smelt in general appearance, but provided with an anterior spinous and a posterior branched dorsal fin, and having the ventrals not far behind the pectorals. The common Californian smelt, Atherinopsis californiensis, reaches a length of about 18 inches, and its flesh is fine, firm, and of excellent flavor, though a little dry. It is one of the most important food-fishes of California, never absent from the markets. Other species are Atherinops affinis, the little smelt, and Leuresthes tenuis. A freshwater cyprinoid, Hybognathus regius, which somewhat resembles the true smelt in form, translucency, and color; also, one of other cyprinoids, as the spawn-eater and the silversides. [Eastern U. S.] A gadoid fish, Microgadus proximus, the tom-cod of the Pacific slope. [San Francisco.] The smolt, a young salmon before its visit to the sea. [Eng.] The lance or lant. See sand-eel, and cut under Ammodytidæ.

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I reckon all that anybody smelt was the creosote Did Mother Saint Ambrose say that she knew there would be an inquest Not to me, madam. — St. Peter’s Finger - Gladys Mitchell - Bradley 09: 1938
The Delta smelt are near extinction; the salmon fisheries were closed in 2008 and will be probably closed again in 2009; and family farmers in the South Delta are seeing salt damage on their crops earlier and earlier each summer. — Indybay newswire
We have saved the Delta smelt, the kangaroo rat and the spotted owl. — Home
A fifth, the rainbow smelt -- indigenous to marine environments -- has spread through the Great Lakes region and into the Mississippi and Hudson Bay watersheds, impacting local fish populations through predation and competition. — Top Headlines at CU Boulder
The delta smelt is a tiny fish between one and two inches long. — 10News.com - Local News

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pompano · grouper · snapper · pickerel · haddock · shad · mackerel · catfish · pilchard · cisco · codfish · prawn

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smelt: smell · smelled · smelling · smells

Etymologies (4)

American Heritage Dictionary (2)

Dutch or Low German smelten, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; see mel-¹ in Indo-European roots.
Middle English, from Old English; see mel-¹ in Indo-European roots.

Century Dictionary (2)

Formerly also smilt; not found in Middle English; from Middle Dutch smelten, smilten, Dutch smelten = Middle Low German smelten, Low German smulten = Old High German smelzen, smelzan, smalzjan, Middle High German smelzen, German schmelzen = Icelandic smelta = Swedish smälta = Danish smelte, fuse, smelt; causal of German schmelzen = Swedish smälta = Danish smelte, melt, dissolve, become liquid; cf. Middle Dutch smalt, grease or melted butter, Dutch smalt, enamel, = Old High German Middle High German smalz, German schmalz, fat, grease, later Italian smalto, enamel, dial. smalzo, butter, = French émail, enamel: see smalt, amel, enamel. Connection with melt is doubtful.
from Middle English smelt, from Anglo-Saxon smelt = Norwegian smelta = Danish smelt, a smelt (applied to various small fishes); perhaps so called because it was ‘smooth’; cf. Anglo-Saxon smeolt, smylt, serene, smooth (as the sea): see smolt.

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