Polishen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic form meaning rubbed until smooth and glossy, as a surface brought to a shine by buffing
2. Old-fashioned past participle describing something that has been burnished to a smooth, bright finish
3. Archaic wording for an object whose surface has been rubbed and worked until it gleams

Etymology: The Latin verb "polire" meant to smooth, scrape, or buff something until it shone, and it passed into Old French as "polir." English borrowed that verb in Middle English, and the spelling "polishen" shows the infinitive ending "-en" that Middle English verbs commonly took. The modern form dropped that ending, leaving "polish" as the verb and "polish" as the noun for a glossy surface. The same Latin root produced a surprising cousin. The past participle "politus," meaning smoothed or polished, took a figurative sense of refined or cultivated, and it entered English as "polite." Both words descend from the idea of rubbing something smooth, and one moved from the surface of an object to the manners of a person.