polish
pronunciation
How to pronounce polish in British English:
UK [ˈpɒlɪʃ]
How to pronounce polish in American English:
US [ˈpɑːlɪʃ]
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- Noun:
- the property of being smooth and shiny
- a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality
- a preparation used in polishing
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- Verb:
- (of surfaces) make shine
- improve or perfect by pruning or polishing
- bring to a highly developed, finished, or refined state
Word Origin
- polish
- polish: [13] Latin polīre ‘make smooth and shiny’ is the ultimate source of English polish. It passed into Old French as polir, whose stem form was poliss- – whence polish. The element -pol- of English interpolate is related to polīre.=> interpolate, polite
- polish (v.)
- early 14c., polischen "make smooth," from Old French poliss-, present participle stem of polir (12c.) "to polish, decorate, see to one's appearance," from Latin polire "to polish, make smooth; decorate, embellish;" figuratively "refine, improve," said to be from Proto-Indo-European *pel- "to thrust, strike, drive" (via the notion of fulling cloth). The sense of "free from coarseness, to refine" first recorded in English mid-14c. Related: Polished; polishing. Slang polish off "finish" is 1837, from notion of applying a coat of polish being the final step in a piece of work.
- polish (n.)
- 1590s, "absence of coarseness," from polish (v.). From 1704 as "act of polishing;" 1819 as "substance used in polishing."
- Polish (adj.)
- 1670s, from Pole + -ish. Related: Polishness. Polish-American attested from 1898.
Antonym
Example
- 1. This formula works for the polish prime minister .
- 2. Polish roads have improved hugely since then , but the biggest change is the border crossing .
- 3. He spoke polish , yiddish and russian .
- 4. Workers at safdico cut and polish diamonds .
- 5. Why the description of auschwitz and the like as " polish death camps " is so unfair and upsetting .