Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Polishing |
PolishingNoun1. The work of making something shine by polishing it; "the shining of shoes provided a meager living". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "polishing" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Building & Civil Engineering | The loss of microtexture in a running surface, which renders it slippery, due to wear or embedment of the coarse aggregate or fatting up of the binder. Source: European Union. (references) |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of polishing any article, high attainments will place you in enviable positions. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Food & Agriculture | Removal of the charred hair, after the singeing operation. Source: European Union. (references) |
Industry | Operation(s)for conferring on yarns a relatively high degree of smoothness of surface. Source: European Union. (references) |
Language | After the denture has been processed, the flask is opened. . . the denture is removed from the flask. . . tinfoil and plaster are removed. . . the denture is prepared for --. Source: European Union. (references) |
Mining | Removing the last traces of suspended matter from solutions by passingthem through a filter coated with diatomaceous earth or similar material. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Polishing is the act of giving something polish, typically through rubbing. Polishing results in a smoother surface with higher shine. Polish can also refer to a compound used in the polishing process.There are two types of polishing: Adding a polish to the surface to fill in pits, or removing tarnish and abrasions. Both are a way to provide care for an object to extend its life and improve its performance.
The first type of polishing typically uses a compound containing wax and thus the terms may be used interchangably. This polishing compound is rubbed into the surface until it is built up to a smooth level. This is the typical way to polish cars, surfboards, shoes, furniture and floors. This removes friction as well as adding a shine.
The second type of polishing involves a slight abrasive, sometimes in combination with a wax or other filler. This is most often used on metal objects like silverware, cookware or automobiles. Typically this just results in increased shine.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Polishing."
Synonym: PolishingSynonym: shining (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Polishing |
| English words defined with "polishing": abradant, abrader, Almagra ♦ black diamond, Bristol brick, Brush wheel, buff, Buff stick, buffer, Burnisher, Burnishing machine ♦ Cadrans, carbonado, Colcothar, Cuttle bone ♦ down, Dutch rush ♦ Emery cloth ♦ Face wheel, fine-tune ♦ Glass cutter, Glass cutting, Glazing ♦ Heelball, Hone slate ♦ Infusorial earth ♦ Lead mill, Limation ♦ Polish, Polishing slate, Polishing wheel, Polishment ♦ Rag wheel, refine, Rotten stone ♦ shining, Stannic oxide, steel-wool pad ♦ Trigger fish ♦ unpolished ♦ wash leather, Wharp, Whitening stone ♦ Yorkshire grit. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "polishing": LEAD WORKER, WAFER POLISHING ♦ POLISHING MACHINE TENDER, polishing mill ♦ SECTION LEADER AND MACHINE SETTER, POLISHING. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | I'm just polishing it. (All the President's Men; writing credit: Carl Bernstein; Bob Woodward) I bet you stay up all night just polishing that (Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger; writing credit: Terry Borst; Frank De Palma) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Polishing Up (1914) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
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Books | |||
High Tech |
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Consumer Goods |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Cutting and polishing room. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Polishing department, cutlery plant, Sheffield, Eng. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Cutting and polishing Mediterranean coral - a common industry at Trapani, Sicily. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | U.S.S. Richmond, sailors polishing bright work. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Polishing department, National Cash Register [Company], Dayton, O[hio]. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Yardman polishing light on railroad switch. Elkins, West Virginia. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Women at war (Mrs. Smuda). There's no household task too arduous for this 1942-style American mother who spends eight hours a day working at the Frankford Arsenal to smash the Axis. When those banisters need cleaning and polishing, they get cleaned and po. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Greenville, South Carolina. Air Service Command. Enlisted man of the 25th service group polishing his shoes. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Sheaffer fountain pen factory, Ft. Madison, Iowa. Polishing barrels for pens. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Maytag Washing Machine Company. Grinding and polishing. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Shine time" by Loretta Humble Commentary: "Polishing brass or something." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Sylvie and Bruno | Carroll, Lewis | The Professor left off polishing his spectacles to consider |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | Mopping the counter with circular strokes, polishing the big shining coffee urns |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Israel | Israel possesses a substantial service sector and is one of the world's centers for diamond cutting and polishing. (references) |
Israel | Industry: Types--high-technology projects--including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics--wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, processed foods, chemicals, diamond cutting and polishing, metal products. (references) | |
Zambia | Opportunities exist for processing Zambia's mineral wealth locally, particularly the polishing of gemstones and marble dressing. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Pakistan | Although surgical instrument manufacturers have acted to remove child laborers from their factories, child labor still occurs at rudimentary offsite filing and polishing centers run by subcontractors for low-end items. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Polishing" is generally used as a lexical verb (-ing form) -- approximately 80.10% of the time. "Polishing" is used about 201 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (-ing form) | 80.1% | 161 | 24,661 |
| Noun (singular) | 11.94% | 24 | 71,196 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 6.47% | 13 | 97,576 |
| Noun (proper) | 1% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Noun (common) | 0.5% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 201 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "polishing": Dental Polishing ♦ diamond polishing plant ♦ polishing agent ♦ polishing file ♦ polishing iron ♦ polishing machine ♦ polishing slate ♦ polishing snake ♦ polishing stone ♦ polishing up ♦ polishing wax ♦ polishing wheel. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "polishing": brass-polishing, car-polishing, glass-polishing, pre-polishing, re-polishing, silver-polishing. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "polishing"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | lustrosje (shining), lustrim (burnish, glazing, shining, varnishing), lëmim (burnish, finish, refinement). (various references) | |
Arabic | تلميع (burnish). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | полировъчен (buffing, burnishing), полиране (finery, glaze, glazing, polish, veneering). (various references) | |
Chinese | 擦亮 (Burnished, Burnishing, Polished). (various references) | |
Danish | polering (finishing, glazing, grinding, lapping, sanding, sleeking, slicking, smoothing), slibning med sandsten, opblankning, lustrering, glitning (calendering, glazing, pressing), beslibning (grinding). (various references) | |
Dutch | polijsten (brightening, burnish, finishing, planish, polish, sleek, sleeking, slick, slicking), zandsteenschuurwerk, schuren met zandsteen, glanzen (glaze, shine), glad worden, glad maken, gepolijst zijn (glazing). (various references) | |
Finnish | kiillotus (brightening, finish, finishing, glazing). (various references) | |
French | polissage, grésage. (various references) | |
German | Polieren (brush up, buff, burnish, furbish, glaze, gloss, polish, polish up, rub, rubbing, shine, shining, simonize, slick, to polish, to slick). (various references) | |
Greek | στίλβωμα (shine). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מריקה (cleaning, exoneration, scouring), מרוק (anoitnting, cleansing, inunction, polished, purification), מרוט (buffing), לטישה (forging, sharpening, whetting). (various references) | |
Hungarian | fényesítő párnácska (polishing pad, velvet pad), bársony párnácska (polishing pad, velvet pad). (various references) | |
Indonesian | penggosokan (incitement, rubbing), gosokan (instigation, rubbing). (various references) | |
Italian | pulitura (cleaning, scrub), spazzolatura (brushing, scraping, sweeping), lucidatura (polish), levigazione (acuminate, elutriation, grinding, honing, sanding, sharpen, smoothing, surface grinding, to grind tools, whet 3)grounding), levigatura a specchio, granigliato, brillantatura (brightening). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 研磨 (agrinding, studying). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | つやだし (burnishing, glazing), せっさ, せいはく (mental retardation, mentally retarded, refining), けんま (grinding, studying). (various references) | |
Korean | 닦음 (scouring, Wipe, Wiping). (various references) | |
Manx | gloashaghey, gloasey (glaze, glazing, gloss, polish, polish up, rub up). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | olishingpay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | polimento (burnish, glaze, glossiness, polish, rubbing, scour, shine, shoeshine, varnish), lustro (burnish, gloss, glossiness, lustrum, polish), lustragem (glazing, glossing), espelhamento. (various references) | |
Romanian | polizare (rubbing), netezire, şlefuire (file). (various references) | |
Russian | шлифовать шлифовка шлифовальный. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | glačanje (buffering, glazing), doterivanje (titivation). (various references) | |
Spanish | pulido (natty, polished). (various references) | |
Swedish | putsning (grouting, plastering, trim, trimming), polering (grinding, lapping), filning (filing), boning (abode, accommodation, dwelling, habitation, residence). (various references) | |
Turkish | perdah (gloss, polish, sheen), parlatma (polish), cilalama (elbow grease, polish), cila (chaser, dope, finish, finishing, glaze, glazing, gloss, luster, lustre, polish, polisher, rubbing varnish, shine, varnish, veneer, veneering, wax). (various references) | |
Turkmen | taraю (cleansing). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | полірування (polish), полірувальний. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | lima. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Lamentations Chapter 4, Verse 7 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Ekaqariwqhsan naziraioi authV uper ciona elamyan uper gala epurrwqhsan uper liqouV sapfeirou to apospasma autwn |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | ZAI candidiores nazarei eius nive nitidiores lacte rubicundiores ebore antiquo sapphyro pulchriores |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Sai. Whittere is Nazareis than snoy, shynendere than mylc; reddere than old yuer, than safyr fairere. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Her holy ones were cleaner than snow, they were whiter than milk, their bodies were redder than corals, their form was as the sapphire: |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Lamentations Chapter 4, Verse 7 |
| Cebuano | Ang iyang mga halangdon labing maputli kay sa nieve, sila labing maputi kay sa gatas: Sila labing mapula ug lawas kay sa mga rubi, ang ilang kahinlo ingon sa zafiro: |
| Croatian | Njeni mladiæi bijahu nekoæ èišæi od snijega, bjelji od mlijeka, od koralja rumenija bijahu im tijela, lice glatko k'o safir. |
| Danish | Hendes Fyrster var renere end Sne, mer hvide end Mælk, deres Legeme rødere end Koral, som Safir deres Årer; |
| Dutch | Zain. Haar bijzondersten waren reiner dan de sneeuw, zij waren witter dan melk; zij waren roder van lichaam dan robijnen, gladder dan een saffier. |
| Finnish | Siionin ruhtinaat olivat lunta puhtaammat, maitoa valkoisemmat, heidän ruumiinsa oli koralleja rusottavampi, heidän hahmonsa oli kuin safiiri. |
| French | Ses princes étaient plus éclatants que la neige, Plus blancs que le lait; Ils avaient le teint plus vermeil que le corail; Leur figure était comme le saphir. |
| German | Ihre Fürsten waren reiner denn der Schnee und klarer denn Milch; ihre Gestalt war rötlicher denn Korallen; ihr Ansehen war wie Saphir. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Dahulu pemimpin-pemimpin kami murni seperti kapas yang putih bersih. Mereka tegap dan kuat, segar bugar dan sehat. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Dahulu segala penghulunya suci dari pada salju, putih dari pada air susu dan cahaya tubuhnya terlebih dari pada cahaya mutiara, dan parasnyapun seperti permata nilam. |
| Maori | Ko ona rangatira pai atu i te hukarere te pokekore, ma atu hoki ratou i te waiu, puwhero ake o ratou tinana i nga rupi, orohina ake ratou ki te oro o te hapaira. |
| Norwegian | Hennes fyrster var renere enn sne, hvitere enn melk; de var rødere på legemet enn koraller; som safir var deres utseende. |
| Portuguese | Os seus nobres eram mais alvos do que a neve, mais brancos do que o leite, eram mais ruivos de corpo do que o coral, e a sua formosura era como a de safira. |
| Rumanian | Voivozii ei erau mai strqlucitori deckt zqpada, mai albi deckt laptele; trupul le era mai row deckt mqrgeanul; faya le era ca safirul. |
| Spanish | Eran más limpios sus príncipes que la nieve, más blancos que la leche. Sus mejillas eran sonrosadas, más que las perlas. Su talle era como el zafiro. |
| Swedish | Hennes furstar voro mer glänsande än snö, de voro vitare än mjölk, deras hy var rödare än korall, deras utseende var likt safirens. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words ending with "polishing": depolishing, repolishing. (additional references) | |
| |
"Polishing" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Kolshin, pelvising, Pogliahi, polishings, polising, Poliziano. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "polishing" (pronounced pÄ"lishing) |
| 6 | -Ä" l i sh i ng | demolishing. |
| 5 | -l i sh i ng | accomplishing, embellishing, establishing, publishing, reestablishing, relishing. |
| 4 | -i sh i ng | anguishing, admonishing, astonishing, banishing, brandishing, diminishing, distinguishing, extinguishing, finishing, flourishing, languishing, lavishing, nourishing, photofinishing, punishing, refinishing, refurbishing, relinquishing, replenishing, skirmishing, vanishing. |
| 3 | -sh i ng | abolishing, ambushing, bashing, blushing, brainwashing, brushing, cashing, clashing, crashing, crushing, dashing, dishing, fishing, flashing, flushing, furbishing, furnishing, gnashing, gushing, hashing, lashing, meshing, onrushing, overfishing, pushing, quashing, ravishing, refreshing, rehashing, rushing, slashing, sloshing, smashing, splashing, squashing, stashing, tarnishing, thrashing, trashing, unleashing, washing, wishing. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "g-h-i-i-l-n-o-p-s" | |
-1 letter: longship, pignolis, spoiling. | |
-2 letters: hoising, lisping, longish, pignoli, pilings, pishing, poising, siloing, sliping, sloping, soiling, spiling. | |
-3 letters: gipons, holing, hoping, hosing, isling, lipins, loping, losing, nihils, oiling, piling, pingos, poling, polish, posing, sigloi, siphon, siping, soling. | |
-4 letters: gipon, glops, hongs, lingo, lings, linos, lions, lipin, loins, longs, nighs, nihil, noils, ohing, oping, opsin, phons. | |
| Words containing the letters "g-h-i-i-l-n-o-p-s" | |
+2 letters: depolishing, repolishing, shoplifting. | |
+3 letters: copublishing, lyophilising, spotlighting. | |
+4 letters: accomplishing, fellowshiping, hospitalising, hospitalizing. | |
+5 letters: antiphlogistic, fellowshipping, philosophising, philosophizing, physiognomical, psycholinguist, psychologising, psychologizing. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Bible Trace | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
