liquefaction

LIQUEFAC'TION, n. [L. liquefactio, from liquefacio.]

1. The act or operation of melting or dissolving; the conversion of a solid into a liquid by the sole agency of heat or caloric. Liquefaction, in common usage, signifies the melting of any substance, but by some authors it is applied to the melting of substances, which pass through intermediate states of softness before they become fluid, as tallow, was, resin, &c.

2. The state of being melted.