Schmalz.
grease, lard
Meaning & usage
grease, lard
schmaltz (something cheesy or excessively sentimental, e.g., music), corniness
imprisonment for illegal activity
english (spin imparted on a billiard ball by hitting it on the side)
Where this word comes from
From Middle High German smalz, from Old High German smalz, from Proto-West Germanic *smalt (“(molten) fat, lard”), an ablaut derivative of *smeltaną. Doublet of Emaille. The figurative sense in part as a backformation from schmalzig.
a surname — famously held by
a surname — famously held by: Valentin Schmalz (1572–1622), German Socinian theologian
Where this word comes from
Attested in the 13th century in Schleswig-Holstein, thought to derive from Middle Low German smal (“small”), from Proto-Germanic *smalaz. Compare the English surname Small, Smalls.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.