Word of the Day: Polish
Polish
Po-lish / pō-lĭsh
adjective
1. referring to someone or something from Poland
This homage has been rendered not to me – for the Polish soil is fertile and does not lack better writers than me – but to the Polish achievement, the Polish genius.
Henry Sienkiewicz, 1846 – 1916
noun
1. the official language of Poland, it is a Slavic language
To be a Pole does not mean just to speak Polish or to feel close to other Poles, but to value the Polish nation above all else.
From “Myśli nowoczesnego Polaka” by Roman Dmowski, 1864 – 1939
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polish
pol-ish / pŏl-ĭsh
noun
1. a substance such as oil or cleanser used to bring out the shine in a surface, when rubbed with a cloth
Elbow grease is the best polish.
English Proverb
2. a surface’s smoothness or glossiness
In its hardness and translucency — in its polish, equal to that of the finest oliva-shell — in the bad smell given out, and loss of colour under the blowpipe — it shows a close similarity with living sea-shells.
From “The Voyage of the Beagle” by Charles Darwin, 1809 – 1882
3. the act of making something smooth and shiny by means of applying a chemical substance or by rubbing
There is usually some truth, which I call the wire; as this passes from hand to hand, one gives it a polish, another a point, others make and put on the head, and at last the pin is completed.
John Newton, 1725 – 1807
4. refinement
To have properly studied the liberal sciences gives a polish to our manners, and removes all awkwardness.
Ovid. 43 BC – 1 BC
verb
1. to bring out the shine or smoothness in something by rubbing it
Life is either going to polish you up or grind you down.
Perry Marshall, 1969 –
2. to become more smooth or shiny through the process of being rubbed
The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man without trials.
Confucius, 551 BC – 479 BC
3. to refine in order to perfect
You may choose your words like a connoisseur,
And polish it up with art,
But the word that sways, and stirs, and stays,
Is the word that comes from the heart.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1850 – 1919
