sheen
pronunciation
How to pronounce sheen in British English:
UK [ʃi:n]
How to pronounce sheen in American English:
US [ʃin]
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- Noun:
- the visual property of something that shines with reflected light
Word Origin
- sheen
- sheen: [OE] Despite its similarity in form and meaning, sheen has no etymological connection with shine. It was originally an adjective, meaning ‘beautiful, bright’. Like its relatives, German schön and Dutch schoon, it goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *skauniz, which was derived from the base *skau- ‘see, look’ (source also of English scavenger and show). It was not used as a noun until the early 17th century (it is first recorded in Shakespeare).=> scavenger, scone, show
- sheen (n.)
- "shining, brightness," 1602 (first attested in "Hamlet" iii.2), noun use of adjective sheene "beautiful, bright," from Old English scene, sciene "beautiful; bright, brilliant," from Proto-Germanic *skauniz "conspicuous" (cognates: Old Frisian skene, Middle Dutch scone, Dutch schoon, Old High German skoni, German schön "fair, beautiful;" Gothic skaunja "beautiful"), from PIE root *skeue- "to pay attention, perceive" (see caveat). Meaning "film of oil on water" is from 1970. As an adjective now only in poetic or archaic use, but in Middle English used after a woman's name, or as a noun, "fair one, beautiful woman."
Example
- 1. Nothing but a wet sheen was left on the mold .
- 2. His handling of a series of minor scandals has dulled his sheen , at least temporarily .
- 3. It emerged from the sea dripping a trail of green , glistening seaweed ; spouts of water gushed in fountains from fields that lent it the sheen of an emerald .
- 4. The shimmer and sheen of both fabric and skin depend on the geometry of their internal structures-the exact arrangement of threads or protein fibres .
- 5. Jim remembered beauty ; a yellow flower , the scent of a woman 's perfume , the warm sheen of a woman 's hair .