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Origin and history of polish

polish(v.)

early 14c., polishen "make smooth or glossy" by friction or coating (of the surface of wood, stone, metal, etc.), from Old French poliss-, present participle stem of polir (12c.) "to polish, decorate, see to one's appearance," from Latin polire "to polish, make smooth; decorate, embellish;" figuratively "refine, improve," said by Watkins to be from PIE root *pel- (5) "to thrust, strike, drive," via the notion of fulling cloth, but there are other guesses.

The figurative sense of "free from coarseness, to refine" in English is recorded from mid-14c. Compare polite. Related: Polished; polishing. To polish off "finish" is by 1829 in pugilism slang, probably from the application of a coat of polish as the final step in a piece of work.

also from early 14c.

polish(n.)

1590s, originally figurative, "absence of coarseness, elegance or style of manners," from polish (v.). From 1704 as "smoothness of surface;" 1705 as "act of polishing;" 1819 as "substance used in polishing."

also from 1590s

Polish(adj.)

"of or pertaining to Poland or its natives or inhabitants," 1670s, from Pole + -ish. Related: Polishness. Polish-American is attested by 1883 in the Chicago newspapers. An earlier adjective was Polonian (1580s), from the Latin form of the name.

also from 1670s

Entries linking to polish

pole(n.1)

"stake, staff," late Old English pal "stake, pole, post," a general Germanic borrowing (Old Frisian and Old Saxon pal "stake," Middle Dutch pael, Dutch paal, Old High German pfal, Old Norse pall) from Latin palus "a stake," from PIE *pakslo-, suffixed form of root *pag- "to fasten." Later specifically "a long, slender, tapering piece of wood."

Racing sense of "inside pole-fence surrounding a course" is from 1851; hence pole position in auto racing (1904). A ten-foot pole as a metaphoric measure of something one would not touch something (or someone) else with is by 1839, American English. The ten-foot pole was a common tool used to set stakes for fences, etc., and the phrase "Can't touch de bottom with a ten foot pole" is in the popular old minstrel show song "Camptown Races."

"I saw her eat."

"No very unnatural occurrence I should think."

"But she ate an onion!"

"Right my boy, right, never marry a woman who would touch an onion with a ten foot pole."

[The Collegian, University of Virginia, June 1839]

polished(adj.)

late 14c., "made smooth;" early 15c., "elegant;" past-participle adjective from polish (v.).

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Trends of polish

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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polite

late 14c., "polished, burnished" (mid-13c. as a surname), from Latin politus "refined, elegant, accomplished," literally "polished," past participle of polire "to polish, to make smooth" (see polish (v.)). The literal sense is obsolete in English; the sense of "elegant, cultured"

round

c. 1300 (early 13c. as a surname), "spherical in shape; circular in outline," of persons or animals, "well-fed;" from Anglo-French rounde, Old French roont (12c., Modern French rond), probably originally *redond, from Vulgar Latin *retundus (source also of Provençal redon, Spanis

refine

"to bring or reduce to a pure state or a condition of purity as full as possible," 1580s of metals; c. 1590 of manners ("purify from what is coarse, low, vulgar, inelegant, etc.;" from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + obsolete fine (v.) "make fine," from fine (adj.) "deli

polonaise

1773, "type of woman's overdress" (a tight, open gown looped at the sides), so called from from fancied resemblance to Polish...costume; 1797, as the name of a type of stately dance; from French (danse) polonaise "a Polish (dance)," fem. of polonais..."Polish," from Pologne "Poland," from Medieval Latin Polonia "Poland" (see Poland)....In the culinary sense, applied to dishes supposed to be cooked in Polish style, attested from 1889....

mazurka

lively Polish dance, properly for four or eight pairs of dancers, also mazourka, 1818, from Russian mazurka, from Polish...The Polish accusative in tańczyć mazurka "to dance the mazurek" was interpreted in Russian as a feminine affix, hence the...

Scutum

constellation, added 1687 by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius, originally Scutum Sobiescanum "Shield of (King John) Sobeski...Polish monarch famous as the savior of Christendom for his victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna (1683)....

furbish

(implied mid-13c. in the surname Furbisher), from Old French forbiss-, present-participle stem of forbir "to polish, burnish...a Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *furbjan "cause to have a (good) appearance" (compare Old High German furban "to polish...The Old English cognate of the Germanic verbs, feormian (with unetymological -m-) meant "to clean, to rub bright, to polish...

radiance

c. 1600, "brilliant light, brightness shooting in diverging rays or beams," from radiant (adj.) or else from Medieval Latin radiantia "brightness," from radiare "to beam, shine" (see radiation). Figurative use, of beauty, joy, etc., is by 1761. Related: Radiancy. Radiance ... is

civilize

c. 1600, "to bring out of barbarism, introduce order and civil organization among, refine and enlighten," from French civiliser, verb from Old French civil (adj.), from Latin civilis "relating to a citizen, relating to public life, befitting a citizen; popular, affable, courteous

shine

Middle English shinen, from Old English scinan "shed, send forth, or give out light; be radiant, be resplendent, illuminate," of persons, "be conspicuous" (class I strong verb; past tense scan, past participle scinen). This is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *skeinanan (s

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