Veneering

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Covering a surface with a thin decorative layer of material such as wood or plastic
2. Adding a slim overlay to enhance the appearance of an object by disguising its core material
3. Applying a thin sheet of fine material to the surface of furniture or other items for aesthetic improvement

Etymology: The surprise here is that the "veneer" in veneering began as a verb meaning to furnish or equip, with nothing to do with thin layers of wood. In Old French, "fornir" and "furnir" meant to furnish, and that sense came from an Old Frankish verb meaning to provide or further. The Germans borrowed the idea through a different route: their word "Furnier" was built from "furnieren", meaning to inlay or cover a surface, which had grown out of the French verb "fournir", to furnish or accomplish. The decorative sense of covering a surface with a thin sheet had arrived by the time the word moved into German. English borrowed the word from German, and the decorative sense it carries comes from that German trade term rather than from the older idea of supplying something. Woodworkers would glue a thin, attractive slice of fine timber over a cheaper core, and the process came to be called veneering. Over time the word broadened to cover thin layers of plastic and other materials too.

Synonyms: coating, lamination, overlay