name
Meaning 1
A surname from German.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
schmaltz
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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UK: /ʃmɒlts/
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UK: /ʃmɔːlts/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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US: /ʃmɔlts/
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US: /ʃmɑlts/
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cot-caught-merger: /ʃmɑlts/
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rhymes with -ɒlts
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rhymes with -ɔːlts
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CMU ARPABET: SH M AA1 L T S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
Rendered chicken or goose fat.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: cooking, food, lifestyle
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Excessively sentimental art or music.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, figuratively, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
(Yiddish) excessive sentimentality in art or music
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: shmaltz, schmalz
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mawkishness, sentimentality, drippiness, mushiness, soupiness, sloppiness
History
Etymology
Borrowed from German Schmaltz.
Borrowed from Yiddish שמאַלץ (shmalts) or German Schmalz. Doublet of smalt, smalto, and enamel.
Across languages
Translations
1 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- German: Schmalz — excessively sentimental art
Real reading context