geschmolzen

Geschmolzen is the past participle of the German verb schmelzen and functions as an adjective describing a substance that has been heated to a liquid or semi-liquid state. It is used in everyday language as well as in technical contexts such as metallurgy, materials science, and cooking.

In metallurgy and related fields, geschmolzenes Metall refers to metal in the liquid state during casting or refining. In cooking, geschmolzene Schokolade or geschmolener Käse describe chocolate and cheese that have melted when heated. In materials science, polymers and glasses may be described as geschmolzen when heated above their melting points to enable shaping or processing.

Etymology and related terms: The word derives from schmelzen and has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch smelten. It is connected to the noun Schmelze and to terms like Schmelzpunkt (melting point), which denotes the temperature at which a solid substance becomes a liquid.

Usage notes: Schmelzend is the present participle and refers to the ongoing process of melting, whereas geschmolzen emphasizes the resulting liquid state after melting. In English, the corresponding translations are melted or molten, depending on context.