polish

See also Polish

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin polire (“to polish, make smooth”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: pŏ'lĭsh, IPA: /ˈpɒlɪʃ/, X-SAMPA: /"pQlIS/
• (US) enPR: pä'lĭsh, IPA: /ˈpɑlɪʃ/, X-SAMPA: /"pAlIS/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

polish (countable and uncountable; plural polishes)

1. A substance used to polish.

   A good silver polish will remove tarnish easily.

2. Cleanliness; smoothness, shininess.

   The floor was waxed to a high polish.

3. Refinement; cleanliness in performance or presentation.

   The lecturer showed a lot of polish at his last talk.

Synonyms

• (substance): wax
• (smoothness, shininess): finish, sheen, shine, shininess, smoothness
• (cleanliness in performance or presentation): class, elegance, panache, refinement, style

Derived terms

• depolish
• expolish
• repolish

Related terms

• polissoir

Translations

substance used to polish

• Czech: leštidlo (cs) n
• Danish: pudsecreme c, politur c
• Dutch: poets, poetsmiddel
• Esperanto: polurilo
• Finnish: kiillote (fi), kiillotusaine (fi)
• French: vernis (fr) m
• German: Politur (de) f

• Italian: lucido (it) m, cera (it) f
• Japanese: 研磨剤 (ja) (kenma-zai)
• Polish: pasta do polerowania f
• Portuguese: cera (de polimento) f, graxa (footwear) f
• Scottish Gaelic: lìomh (gd) f
• Spanish: betún (footwear polish)
• Swedish: polityr, polermedel, putsmedel

cleanliness; smoothness; shininess

• Danish: glans c, glathed c
• Dutch: glans (nl) m
• Esperanto: poluro (eo)
• Finnish: kiilto (shininess), tasaisuus (smoothness)
• German: Glanz (de) m
• Italian: lucidità (it) f

• Japanese: (cleanliness) 綺麗 (ja) (kirei), 清らか (ja) (kiyoraka), 清潔 (ja) (seiketsu); (smoothness) 平ら (ja) (taira), 平坦 (ja) (heitan); (shininess) 輝き (ja) (kagayaki), つや (ja) (tsuya), 艶 (ja) (tsuya), 光沢 (ja) (kōtaku)
• Polish: połysk m
• Portuguese: polimento (pt) m
• Swedish: polish (sv), glans (sv)

cleanliness in performance or presentation

• Danish: elegance c, forfinelse c
• Finnish: viimeistely (fi), selkeys (fi), tyyli (fi)
• Italian: raffinatezza (it) f

• Japanese: 洗練 (ja) (senren)
• Portuguese: polimento m
• Swedish: finess, polityr

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: политура f (1), блясък m (2), изтънченост f (3)
• Persian: جلا (jala)
• German: Schliff m (3)
• Interlingua: cera (de polimento)
• Romanian: pastă de lustruit f
• Spanish: abrillantador

See also

• apple-polish
• French polish
• furniture polish
• glacial polish
• nail polish
• polish remover
• shoe polish
• spit and polish
• stove polish
• varnish polish

Verb

polish (third-person singular simple present polishes, present participle polishing, simple past and past participle polished)

1. (transitive) To shine; to make a surface very smooth or shiny by rubbing, cleaning, or grinding.

   He polished up the chrome until it gleamed.

2. (transitive) To refine; remove imperfections from.

   The band has polished its performance since the last concert.

3. (transitive) To apply shoe polish to shoes.
4. (intransitive) To become smooth, as from friction; to receive a gloss; to take a smooth and glossy surface.

   Steel polishes well.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (make smooth or shiny): shine, smooth, bone
• (refine): hone, perfect, refine

Derived terms

• polishable
• polished
• polisher
• polishing
• polishment
• polishure
• repolish
• unpolish

Related terms

• polite

Translations

make a surface smooth or shiny

• Arabic: لمع (ar) (lámma3a)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 擦亮 (cmn) (cāliàng)

• Czech: leštit (cs)
• Danish: polere, blanke, pudse (make shiny), glatte (make smooth)
• Dutch: polijsten (nl), poetsen (nl), oppoetsen (nl)
• Esperanto: poluri (eo)
• Finnish: kiillottaa (make shiny), hioa (make smooth), puunata (colloquial)
• French: polir (fr)
• German: polieren (de)
• Hungarian: kifényesít (hu), políroz (hu)
• Interlingua: polir; furbir (metal); lustrar (shoes); lisiar (= to smooth)

• Italian: lucidare (it)
• Japanese: 磨く (ja) (migaku); (for rice) 研ぐ (ja) (togu)
• Jèrriais: poli
• Korean: 닥다 (ko) (dakda)
• Polish: polerować, wygładzać
• Portuguese: polir (pt)
• Russian: (reflective surface) полировать (ru) (polirovát’) , (matte surface) шлифовать (ru) (šlifovát’) 
• Scottish Gaelic: lìomh (gd)
• Spanish: pulir (es), acicalar (es)
• Swedish: polera (sv), putsa (sv)

refine; improve imperfections from

• Danish: forfine, pudse af
• Dutch: oppoetsen (nl)
• Finnish: hioa (fi), parannella (fi), kehittää (fi)
• Italian: perfezionare (it)

• Japanese: 洗練する (ja) (senren-suru)
• Portuguese: polir (pt)
• Swedish: polera (sv), putsa (sv)

apply shoe polish

• Jèrriais: bliatchinner
• Navajo: náyiishį́į́h

• Scottish Gaelic: lìomh (gd)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Breton: lufrañ, levnañ
• Bulgarian: излъсквам (1), шлифовам (2)
• Catalan: polir
• German: fegen
• Persian: صیقل زدن (sayqal zadan)
• Romanian: a lustrui
• Spanish: pulir

See also

• interpolish
• polish off
• polish up, polish up on

External links

• polish in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• polish in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• polish at OneLook Dictionary Search