polish

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English polishen, from Old French poliss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of polir, from Latin polīre (“to polish, make smooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- (“to drive, strike, thrust”), from the notion of fulling cloth. === Pronunciation === (UK) enPR: pŏl'ĭsh, IPA(key): /ˈpɒl.ɪʃ/ (US) enPR: pä'lĭsh, IPA(key): /ˈpɑ.lɪʃ/ === Noun === polish (countable and uncountable, plural polishes) A substance used to polish. Cleanliness; smoothness, shininess. Refinement; cleanliness in performance or presentation. ==== Synonyms ==== (substance): wax (smoothness, shininess): finish, sheen, shine, shininess, smoothness (cleanliness in performance or presentation): class, elegance, panache, refinement, style ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== polissoir ==== Translations ==== === Verb === polish (third-person singular simple present polishes, present participle polishing, simple past and past participle polished) (transitive) To shine; to make a surface very smooth or shiny by rubbing, cleaning, or grinding. (transitive) To refine; remove imperfections from. (transitive) To apply shoe polish to shoes. (intransitive) To become smooth, as from friction; to receive a gloss; to take a smooth and glossy surface. (transitive) To refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or rusticity of; to make elegant and polite. ==== Synonyms ==== (to make smooth and shiny by rubbing): wax, shine, buff, furbish, burnish, smooth, bone (refine): hone, perfect, refine ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== polite ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === “polish”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “polish”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “polish”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. === Anagrams === Hislop, philos