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Where does the word "polish" come from? It comes from Latin polire, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
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Where does the word "polish" come from? It comes from Latin polire, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
Polish’s story begins in Latin: polire meant “to make smooth.” The root of 'polite', literally 'polished'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as poliss-. The stem of 'polir'. It reached English by 1300s as polish. The figurative sense, refined manners, came in the 1500s. Today, polish means to make smooth and shiny by rubbing.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient polire "to make smooth", the root of 'polite', literally 'polished'.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval poliss- "to polish", the stem of 'polir'.
- Stage 3 · English · 1300s polish "to make shiny", the figurative sense, refined manners, came in the 1500s.