burnish
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burnish¹
- /ˈbɜːnɪʃ/ UK
- /ˈbɝnɪʃ/ US
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)nɪʃ
Where it comes from
The verb is derived from Middle English burnishen, burnysshen (“to polish, burnish; (figuratively) to brighten, give lustre to; to clean (something) until shiny; to decorate (with something shiny), adorn”) [and other forms], from burniss-, a stem of Old French burnir (compare, for example, the first-person present singular indicative form burnis), a variant of brunir (“to make clean and shiny, polish; to make brown”) (modern French brunir), from Frankish *brūnijan (“to polish, make resplendent”), from Proto-Germanic *brūnijaną (“to decorate; tan”), from Proto-Germanic *brūnaz (“brown”, adjective), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”, adjective). Unrelated to burn.
The noun is derived from the verb.
verb burnishes · burnishing · burnished · burnish
- To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine. In pottery, a stone is sometimes used to burnish a pot before firing, giving it a smooth, shiny look.
- Of a stag: to remove the velvet (“skin and fine fur”) from (its antlers) by rubbing them against something; to velvet. His [a hart's] head when it commeth firſt out, hath a ruſſet pyll vpon it, the which is called Veluet,[…]. When his head is growne out to the full bigneſſe, then he rubbeth of that pyll, and that is called fraying of his head. And afterwards he Burniſheth the ſame, and then his head is ſaid to be fu
- To make (someone or something) appear positive and highly respected. If a Lye, after it is molded, be not ſmooth enough, there is no inſtrumẽt to burniſh it, but an oath; Svvearing giues it cullor, & a bright complexion.
- To become bright, glossy, and smooth; to brighten, to gleam, to shine forth. Hovv you itch Michaell, hovv you burniſh! / VVill not this ſouldiers heat out of your bones yet, / Doe your eyes glovv novv?
noun burnishes
- A shine of something which has been polished; a lustre, a polish.
- A shiny layer applied to a surface or other thing.
- The making of something bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; (countable) an instance of this; a burnishing, a polishing, a shining. With a good burnish, the old table should fetch a higher price.
burnish²
- /ˈbɜːnɪʃ/ UK
- /ˈbɝnɪʃ/ US
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)nɪʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English barnishen, barnish (“to grow big (with child), to become pregnant; to grow stout or strong”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from barn (“child, offspring; infant; unborn child; human being, person; male person, man (especially a young man or young warrior)”). (from Old English bearn (“child”), from Proto-West Germanic *barn (“child”), from Proto-Germanic *barną (“child”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”)) + -ishen (suffix forming verbs).
verb burnishes · burnishing · burnished
- Of a person's body: to grow large or stout; to fatten, to fill out. A man Grovveth in heigth and length untill he be one and tvventie yeares of age: then beginneth he to ſpread and burniſh in ſquareneſſe.
- Of a thing: to increase in size; to expand, to spread out, to swell. [Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects] is to paſſe a running examination ouer the vvhole Edifice, according to the properties of a vvell ſhapen Man. As […] vvhether the Fabrique bee of a beautifull Stature, vvhether for the breadth it appeare vvell burniſh
Translations
Every language
verb to make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing — see also polish, shine
| Español | bruñir, ciclar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 打磨 dǎmó, 磨光 móguāng, 拋光 /抛光 pāoguāng |
| Português | brunir, açacalar, polir |
| Français | brunir, fourbir |
| Deutsch | brünieren, glanzschleifen, glätten, glatt scheuern |
| Italiano | brunire, abbrunire, lappare, lumeggiàre |
| Română | bruna, lustrui |
| Русский | дра́ить dráitʹ, надра́ивать nadráivatʹ, надра́ить nadráitʹ, полирова́ть polirovátʹ, шлифова́ть šlifovátʹ |
| العربية | رَزَّزَ razzaza |
| עברית | הבריק hivrík, מרק marák, מירק merék |
verb to make (someone or something) appear positive and highly respected
| 中文 | 打磨 dǎmó |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | aufpolieren, zu mehr Glanz verhelfen |
Talk about this word "burnish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/burnish. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. burnish. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/burnish "burnish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/burnish.Cite this
@misc{burnish_2026,
title = {burnish},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/burnish},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
