From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Polishing \Pol"ish*ing\,
a. & n. from {Polish}.
[1913 Webster]
{Polishing iron}, an iron burnisher; esp., a small smoothing
iron used in laundries.
{Polishing slate}.
(a) A gray or yellow slate, found in Bohemia and Auvergne,
and used for polishing glass, marble, and metals.
(b) A kind of hone or whetstone; hone slate.
{Polishing snake}, a tool used in cleaning lithographic
stones.
{Polishing wheel}, a wheel or disk coated with, or composed
of, abrading material, for polishing a surface.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Polish \Pol"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Polished}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Polishing}.] [F. polir, L. polire. Cf. {Polite}, {-ish}]
1. To make smooth and glossy, usually by friction; to
burnish; to overspread with luster; as, to polish glass,
marble, metals, etc.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence, to refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or
rusticity of; to make elegant and polite; as, to polish
life or manners. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
{To polish off}, to finish completely, as an adversary.
[Slang] --W. H. Russell.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
polishing
n 1: the work of making something smooth and shiny by rubbing or
waxing it; "the shining of shoes provided a meager living";
"every Sunday he gave his car a good polishing" [syn:
{shining}, {polishing}]
|
