The French verb “fondre” means “to melt,” along with a host of other meanings. It’s a useful verb to know if you’re heading into summer temperatures.

“Fondre” can mean “to melt,” “to melt down,” “to thaw,” “to thaw out,” “to cast,” “to dissolve,” “to melt away,” “to waste away,” “to soften,” or when used reflexively, “to blend in with,” or “to melt into.”

Examples

• viande qui fond dans la bouche (meat which melts in your mouth)
• faire fondre (to melt)
• je fonds du beurre dans la poêle (I’m melting some butter in the pan)
• faire fondre dans un peu d’eau (to dissolve in a little water)
• avoir fondu de dix kilos (to have lost ten kilos)
• il fond devant sa petite-fille (his heart melts when he sees his granddaughter)
• fondre en larmes (to dissolve into tears)
• nous fondrons les deux succursales dans la maison-mère (The two business owners decided to merge their firms to form one large organisation)
• le voleur s’est fondu dans la foule (The thief vanished/disappeared into the crowd)

Etymology

“Fondre” comes from the Latin verb “fundere,” meaning “to pour” or “to melt.” Its first recorded usage in French dates to 1050AD. “Fondre” in its meaning of “to cast” or “to melt” is related to the English word “foundry,” which is a workshop or factory for casting metal.