premise: to burn steel in forging; to burn one
hypothesis: the best context for <mask> here is To injure by fire or heat; to change destructively some property or properties of, by undue exposure to fire or heat; to scorch; but not To perfect or improve by fire or heat; to submit to the action of fire or heat for some economic purpose; to destroy or change some property or properties of, by exposure to fire or heat in due degree for obtaining a desired residuum, product, or effect.