Etymologically
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polish

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈpɒl.ɪʃ/, US /ˈpɑː.lɪʃ/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English polisen, polishen, borrowed from Old French poliss-, the lengthened stem of polir (“to polish, decorate”),[2][3][4] from Latin polīre (“to polish, make smooth; to refine”),[2][4][5] of uncertain origin;[2][4] Watkins, quoted by Etymonline, derives it from PIE Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to thrust, strike, drive”), through the fulling of cloth, and MWU relates it to pellere (“to drive, beat”).[4][5] The ending is the -ish of verbs from French.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make smooth and shiny: before 1325 in Cursor Mundi in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, to free from coarseness or refine, is from about 1340, in an early psalter;[2][4] compare polite, from the same Latin verb.[4][6] The noun was at first figurative too, refinement or elegance of manner, from 1597;[2][7][4] smoothness of surface is from 1704 and the act of polishing from 1704–05, in Newton's Opticks,[2][4][7] and a substance used for polishing from 1819.[2][4][7] Nail polish is called simply polish from 1917.[7] To polish off, to finish quickly, is a later informal use.[8][9] In Yorkshire dialect, to polish was to eat up entirely.[10]

Timeline

  • before 1325 – to make smooth and shiny.[2]
  • c. 1340 – to refine, figuratively.[2][4]
  • 1597 – the noun, refinement.[2][7]
  • 1704 – smoothness, the act of polishing.[2][7]
  • 1819 – a polishing substance.[2][4]
  • 1917 – nail polish.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To make smooth and shiny by rubbing, often with a wax or abrasive.
  2. To improve or perfect; to refine.
  3. (polish off) To finish quickly, as a meal or task.
  4. To remove the outer layers from grains of rice.

Noun

  1. A substance used to give a smooth, shiny surface: shoe polish, nail polish.
  2. Smoothness and shine of surface.
  3. Refinement or elegance of style or manner.

Word family

  • polisher
  • electropolish
  • apple-polish
  • depolish
  • repolish
  • overpolish
  • polished
  • polite
  • Polish
  • interpolate

Usage notes

Polish with a capital P, of Poland, is a different word, from Pole and -ish (1670s in Etymonline, 1574 in MWU), pronounced UK /ˈpəʊ.lɪʃ/, US /ˈpoʊ.lɪʃ/.[4][5][1]

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)