What is "smelt"

Smell \Smell\ (sm[e^]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Smelled, Smelt; p. pr. & vb. n. Smelling.] [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, sm["o]len, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

1. To perceive by the olfactory nerves, or organs of smell; to have a sensation of, excited through the nasal organs when affected by the appropriate materials or qualities; to obtain the scent of; as, to smell a rose; to smell perfumes.

2. To detect or perceive, as if by the sense of smell; to scent out; -- often with out. ``I smell a device.''
   --Shak.

   Can you smell him out by that?
   --Shak.

3. To give heed to. [Obs.]

   From that time forward I began to smellthe Word of God, and forsook the school doctors.
   --Latimer.

   To smell a rat, to have a sense of something wrong, not clearly evident; to have reason for suspicion. [Colloq.]

   To smell out, to find out by sagacity. [Colloq.]

Smelt \Smelt\, imp. & p. p. of Smell.

Smelt \Smelt\, n. [AS. smelt, smylt; akin to Dan. smelt.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of small silvery salmonoid fishes of the genus Osmerus and allied genera, which ascend rivers to spawn, and sometimes become landlocked in lakes. They are esteemed as food, and have a peculiar odor and taste.

   Note: The most important species are the European smelt ( Osmerus eperlans) (called also eperlan, sparling, and spirling), the Eastern American smelt ( O. mordax), the California smelt ( O. thalichthys), and the surf smelt ( Hypomesus olidus). The name is loosely applied to various other small fishes, as the lant, the California tomcod, the spawn eater, the silverside.

2. Fig.: A gull; a simpleton. [Obs.]
   --Beau. & Fl.

   Sand smelt (Zo["o]l.), the silverside.

Smelt \Smelt\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Smelted; p. pr. & vb. n. Smelting.] [Of foreign origin; cf. Sw. sm["a]lta, D. smelten, Dan. smelte, Icel. smelta, G. schmelzen OHG. smelzan, smelzen; probably akin to Gr. ?????. Cf. Enamel, Melt, Mute, v. i., Smalt.] (Metal.) To melt or fuse, as, ore, for the purpose of separating and refining the metal; hence, to reduce; to refine; to flux or scorify; as, to smelt tin.

mid-15c. (implied in smelter), from Dutch or Low German smelten, from Proto-Germanic *smelt- (cognates: Old High German smelzan, German schmelzen "to melt"), from PIE *smeld-, variant of *mel- "soft." Thus the word is from a variant of the stem of Old English meltan "to melt" (see melt (v.)). Related: Smelted; smelting.

Old English smelt "sardine, small salmon-like sea fish," cognate with Dutch smelt "sand eel," Danish smelt (c.1600). OED notes that it has a peculiar odor (but doesn't suggest a connection with smell); Klein suggests a connection with the way the fish melts in one's mouth. Century Dictionary speculates it means "smooth" and compares Old English smeolt, smylt "serene, smooth."

Etymology 1 n. 1 Any small anadromous fish of the family Osmeridae, found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and in lakes in North America and northern part of Europe. 2 (context obsolete English) A fool; a simpleton. Etymology 2

vb. (en-past of: smell) Etymology 3

n. 1 Production of metal, especially iron, from ore in a process that involves melt and chemical reduction of metal compound into purified metal. 2 Any of the various liquids or semi-molten solids produced and used during the course of such production. vb. to fuse or melt two things into one, especially in order to extract metal from ore; to meld

1. n. small cold-water silvery fish; migrate between salt and fresh water

2. small trout-like silvery marine or freshwater food fishes of cold northern waters

3. v. extract (metals) by heating

1. v. inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense

2. emit an odor; "The soup smells good"

3. smell bad; "He rarely washes, and he smells"

4. [also: smelt]

See smell

1. n. the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form; "she loved the smell of roses" [syn: odor, odour, olfactory sensation, olfactory perception]

2. any property detected by the olfactory system [syn: olfactory property, aroma, odor, odour, scent]

3. the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people; "the feel of the city excited him"; "a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting"; "it had the smell of treason" [syn: spirit, tone, feel, feeling, flavor, flavour, look]

4. the faculty of smell [syn: sense of smell, olfaction, olfactory modality]

5. the act of perceiving the odor of something [syn: smelling]

6. [also: smelt]

Smelts are a family of small fish, Osmeridae, found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They are also known as freshwater smelts or typical smelts to distinguish them from the related Argentinidae, Bathylagidae, and Retropinnidae.

Some smelt species are common in the North American Great Lakes, and in the lakes and seas of the northern part of Europe, where they run in large schools along the saltwater coastline during spring migration to their spawning streams. In some western parts of the United States, smelt populations have greatly declined in recent decades, leading to their protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Delta smelt, Hypomesus transpacificus, found in the Sacramento Delta of California, and the Columbia River smelt, Eulachon, are both protected from harvest.

Some species of smelt are among the few fish that sportsmen have been allowed to net, using hand-held dip nets, either along the coastline or in streams. Some sportsmen also ice fish for smelt. Smelt are often fried and eaten whole.

Smelt may refer to:

• Smelting, chemical process
• Smelts, a number of small fish:
  • Great Lakes smelts (North American) in the family Osmeridae and genera Allosmerus (also called whitebait smelt), Hypomesus, Mallotus, Osmerus, Spirinchus and Thaleichthys
  • Whitebait smelts (North American) in the family Osmeridae and genera: Allosmerus, Elongatus, Hypomesus and Mallotus
  • Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species Retropinna semoni
  • New Zealand smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species Retropinna retropinna
  • Herring smelts in the family Argentinidae
  • Deep-sea smelts in the family Bathylagidae
  • Silversides in the family Atherinidae
  • Smelt-whitings in the family Sillaginidae
• Smelt, past tense and past participle of smell