Sinters

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of converting a material into a solid mass through heat without melting it
2. The act of fusing or bonding particles together at high temperatures to form a cohesive structure
3. A method used in metallurgy or ceramics where powdered materials are pressed and heated to form a dense, solid product

Etymology: The word "sinter" came into English from German "Sinter," a term for the crusty mineral deposit that forms around hot springs and in furnaces. Its more surprising relative is "cinder." The two words are doublets: they descend from the same ancestor but reached English by different routes, one through German and the other through a separate path, so they ended up with related but distinct meanings. "Sinters" is simply the third-person singular form of the verb "sinter," so it describes what happens when someone or something sinters, that is, fuses particles together under heat until they form a solid mass. The verb follows naturally from the noun: the process was named after the material it produces.

Synonyms: fuses, melts