burnish
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: 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.
Inflected forms:
form: burnishes
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: burnishing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: burnished
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: burnished
pos: verb
tags: past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: burnish
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: burnish
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: burnished
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: burnisht
pos: verb
tags: archaic
first-person
past
singular
form: burnish
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: burnishest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: burnished
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: burnishedst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: burnisht
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: burnishes
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: burnisheth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: burnished
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: burnisht
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
singular
third-person
form: burnish
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: burnished
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: burnisht
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
plural
form: burnish
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: burnished
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: burnisht
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
subjunctive
form: burnish
pos: verb
tags: imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: burnishing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: burnished
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: burnisht
pos: verb
tags: archaic
participle
past
form: burnishes
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: In pottery, a stone is sometimes used to burnish a pot before firing, giving it a smooth, shiny look.
Lyke as the larke, vpon the somers day, / Whan Titan radiant burnisshith his bemis bryght, […]
So forth he came all in a cote of plate, / Burniſht vvith bloudie ruſt; […]
Fire Renovates and Burniſheth the Mine, / The Spirit of VVisdom, makes the Face to ſhine: / Fire elevates, inclines things to Aſcend, / The Spirit of Faith too makes Souls upvvard tend: […]
Thus was this place, / A happy rural ſeat of various view; / Groves whoſe rich Trees wept Odorous Gummes and Balme, / Others whoſe fruit burniſht with Golden Rinde / Hung amiable, Heſperian Fables true, / If true, here onely, and of delicious taſte: […]
Novv the village vvindovvs blaze, / Burniſh'd by the ſetting ſun.
Thou [the sun] smilest on the sunflower craning after thee, / And burnishest my brother of the vane, […]
The locomotive had been magnificently burnished at Norwich depot, with polished brasswork and red-painted coupling rods—all the more creditable, Dr. Allen adds, as it spent many months last winter in open store.
gloss: Of a stag: to remove the velvet (“skin and fine fur”) from (its antlers) by rubbing them against something; to velvet.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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 full ſommed.
The Stagg or Buck burnisheth his head, by rubbing it againſt the trees, Het Hart wrijſt ſijn hooſt tegen de boomen.
Deer are ſaid to burniſh their Heads, vvhen rubbing off a vvhite dovvny Skin from their Horns againſt a Tree, they thruſt 'em into a reddiſh Earth, to give 'em a nevv Colour and Luſtre.
gloss: To make (someone or something) appear positive and highly respected.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: 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.
[I]f he is not burnishing thinks he all's Time does lose, / For Sir Jan, Sir Jan, &c. [i.e., no dinner gave a Muse.]
Purſuit of fame vvith pedants fills our ſchools, / And into Coxcombs burniſhes our Fools; […]
He burnisheth stale villanies afresh. / Whilst, ravenous as sharks for human flesh, / His gaping audience bold the tumid food, / More grateful the more foully 'tis imbued.
Bonnie Parker helped burnish her own image.
In particular, those who experienced her [Elizabeth of Hungary's]three rose miracles did the most to burnish her legend.
Desperate to burnish her legacy, Louise pleads her case for higher status based on her achievements on Earth as a philanthropist, artist, and occasional royal rebel.
One of her [Sheryl Sandberg's] primary roles had been to charm Washington on Facebook's behalf, and protect and burnish its image. Neither project was going particularly well.
gloss: To become bright, glossy, and smooth; to brighten, to gleam, to shine forth.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Hovv you itch Michaell, hovv you burniſh! / VVill not this ſouldiers heat out of your bones yet, / Doe your eyes glovv novv?
So vvhen the VVar has rais'd a Storm, / I've ſeen a Snake in human Form, / All ſtain'd in Infamy and Vice, / Leap from the Dunghill in a trice, / Burniſh and make a gaudy ſhovv, / Become a General, Peer, and Beau, / Till Peace hath made the Sky Serene, / Then ſhrink into it's Hole again.
gloss: A shine of something which has been polished; a lustre, a polish.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: A shiny layer applied to a surface or other thing.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: With a good burnish, the old table should fetch a higher price.
Derived words: burnished
burnisher
burnishing
burnishment
reburnish
Translations: