polir

Forms

polir^[1] Anglo-Norman also pollir.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin poliō (“to make smooth, level, polish”).^[3][4][5][6] Bloch and Wartburg regard the word as inherited only in its concrete sense, the figurative senses being taken again from Latin;^[7] Wiktionary treats it as a borrowing.^[1]

In Latin the verb also had technical uses (to square funeral logs, to plaster, to burnish metals and stones, to full cloth, to clear a field) and the figurative sense "to refine, embellish", used especially of style.^[4][3] Rey reports that Ernout and Meillet find an analysis as po- + linō (“to smear”) unlikely, and follow Vendryes in taking the first sense to be "to beat wool or cloth to dress it", which would link it with the Germanic root behind feutre and German Filz.^[4]

Cognate with Italian pulire, Occitan polir and Spanish pulir.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is from 1216, in Anger's translation of the life of Saint Gregory, meaning "to make smooth and shiny";^[3] Rey and the Grand Robert date the word to about 1180,^[4][6] and the Anglo-Norman Dictionary has it from the mid-12th century in the sense "to burnish, make smooth by friction".^[2]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense "to make smooth, even and bright by rubbing" (marble, glass, metal) came first.^[4][3] The figurative "to make as perfect as possible" appears about 1200, in L'Escoufle, and is now dated or literary when used of a person or of manners.^[3][4] About 1270 it was used of choosing and refining one's words; since 1671 it has also been used of writing something carefully.^[3][4] The sense "to soften manners, cultivate the mind" (16th century) comes, according to Bloch and Wartburg, from the adjective poli, itself modelled on Latin polītus.^[7]

In the old slang of beggars, from the sense "to clean, wash", polir meant "to steal"; this sense died out but produced polisson (1616).^[4][7]

English polish (early 14th century) comes from the stem poliss- of the Old French verb.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1180 – Rey and the GLLF date the first use to about 1180.^[4][10]
• c. 1200 – The figurative "to make as perfect as possible" appears in L'Escoufle.^[3]
• 1216 – Anger uses it for "to make smooth and shiny".^[3]
• c. 1270 – Gillebert de Berneville uses it of choosing one's words.^[3]
• Early 14th century – English borrows it as polishen.^[9]
• 1389 – Polisseur and repolir are recorded.^[7]
• 1616 – Polisson appears, first as a word of beggars' slang.^[7]
• 1671 – Pomey records it for finishing a speech.^[3]
• 1749 – Polissage is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make a hard surface smooth and shiny by rubbing, to polish: polir une table de chêne.^[11][3][1]
2. (dated or literary) To refine someone's manners, to make polite.^[11][8]
3. To refine a piece of writing or a style, to give it the finishing touches.^[11][3][1]
4. (reflexive) se polir: to become smooth by friction, or to become refined.^[11][8]

Word family

• polissage
• polisseur
• polissoir
• polisson
• polissure
• dépolir
• repolir
• polissable

Related words

• poli
• politesse
• Latin poliō
• English polish

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 126b
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
11. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert