polish

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the property of being smooth and shiny
  2. noun a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality; ; ; --Joseph Conrad
  3. noun a preparation used in polishing

Etymology

From Middle English polishen, from Old French poliss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of polir, from Latin polīre (“to polish, make smooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- (“to drive, strike, thrust”), from the notion of fulling cloth.

In classic literature

Synonyms

gloss, glossiness, burnish

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