Planished

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To be formed or polished by repeated hammering, resulting in a smooth and shiny surface
2. To refine a metal object by repeatedly striking it to achieve a glossy and flawless finish
3. To improve the surface texture of metal through continuous gentle hammer blows until a sleek sheen is obtained

Etymology: "Planished" comes from the Anglo-Norman and Old French verb "planir," meaning to make flat or smooth, which descends from Latin "planus," flat. The word entered English as a trade term in metalworking, where it names a specific finishing step: a sheet of metal is hammered with a smooth-faced hammer, or hammered against a polished steel block called a stake, until the surface is level and gleaming. The hammering is light and repeated, so it flattens the surface rather than reshaping the piece. Because the process is so particular, the verb has stayed almost entirely within the vocabulary of silversmiths, coppersmiths and sheet-metal workers, who used it to describe the finishing of teapots, trays and similar hollowware. The word is less a general synonym for "polished" than a precise name for one way of achieving that finish.

Synonyms: smoothed, polished