Changing from a solid to a liquid form due to heat, or gradually softening or dissolving.
From Old English 'meltan,' related to Germanic roots meaning 'to digest' or 'to soften.' The word originally meant to digest food, then expanded to mean any substance becoming liquid through heat.
The phrase 'melting pot' for mixed cultures comes from the idea that different things blend together when heated, and that phrase literally changed how Americans thought about immigration and diversity!
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