Varnishing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Applying a clear or colored finish to a surface to protect and enhance its appearance
2. Covering an object with a transparent or glossy layer that serves both protective and aesthetic purposes
3. Spreading a smooth, shiny coating over materials like wood or paintings to shield them and improve visual appeal

Etymology: Varnishing is simply the present participle and gerund of "varnish", so the interesting history belongs to the root verb. That root traces back to a town. In Medieval Greek, the name was "Bereníkē", after Berenice, the city in Cyrenaica that is now called Benghazi in Libya. Medieval Latin then turned the name into "vernix" or "veronix", and Old French shaped it into "vernis", which reached Middle English as "vernisch" or "vernish". The leap from a North African place name to a glossy coating is the core of the story, though the source does not explain exactly why the town's name became attached to the substance. What it does establish is the chain of borrowing itself, with each language reshaping the name as it passed it along, until English ended up with a word for the finish that gives woodwork and paintwork its shine.

Synonyms: lacquering, coating