polish

/ˈpɒlɪʃ/PO-lish

/ˈpɑlɪʃ/PAH-lish

Meaningto smooth

Common meaning: to rub smooth and shiny

polto smooth, polishLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1391 · scan
ishverb ending (from French -iss-)

Journey through time

Latinpoliō, polītum‘to smooth, polish’
Frenchpoliss
Middle Englishpolischensource
Englishpolish‘to rub smooth and shiny’ · today

pol also in: polite

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin poliō ‘to smooth, polish’.

Roots

poliō, polītum Latin “to smooth, polish”

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