smelting
smelting Lexical Profile
smelting Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The metallurgical process of extracting a base metal from its ore by heating it beyond its melting point in the presence of a chemical reducing agent.
"Archaeological evidence suggests that copper smelting began in the Middle East over seven thousand years ago."
• verb
To extract a pure metal from its raw ore by a process involving heating and chemical reduction (present participle of smelt).
"The foundry has been smelting iron ore in blast furnaces for over a century."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'smelting' with 'melting'; melting simply changes a solid substance into a liquid through heat, whereas smelting involves a chemical reaction using heat and a reducing agent to extract pure metal from its raw ore.
• Rhymes for smelting
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the verb 'smelt', borrowed in the 16th century from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German 'smelten' (meaning 'to melt'), which shares a Proto-Germanic root with the English word 'melt'.