Smelteries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Facilities where ores are heated and melted to extract metals ; industrial plants for processing raw minerals into purified metals ; sites equipped for roasting and melting materials to separate useful metals from impurities
2. Industrial establishments dedicated to the extraction of metals by heating ores ; plants designed for refining raw mineral products through melting ; locations where mineral ores undergo heat treatment for metal recovery
3. Plants or workshops for melting and refining metallic ores ; facilities that convert raw materials into metals by high-temperature processing ; spaces where raw ores are transformed into usable metals by smelting processes

Etymology: "Smelteries" is the plural of "smeltery," a place where ores are heated until metal separates from the rock. The word is built from "smelt," the verb meaning to melt ore so that its metal can be drawn out, plus the suffix "-ery," which English uses to name a place where something is done or kept, as in "bakery" or "brewery." The verb "smelt" is the older and more basic part of the story. It arrived in English from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch, where forms like "smelten" meant to melt, and it has long been used for metalwork rather than for melting in general. The suffix "-ery" came into English from Old French "-erie," so "smeltery" is a hybrid of a Germanic verb with a French-derived ending, a pattern that is common in English trade words.

Synonyms: smelting plants, foundries