Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

burnish

/ˈbɝnɪʃ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.04 in modern English

Syllables: burn-ish
IPA: /ˈbɝnɪʃ/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine.

Transitive verb

verb

Of a stag: to remove the velvet (“skin and fine fur”) from (its antlers) by rubbing them against something; to velvet.

Transitive verb

verb

To make (someone or something) appear positive and highly respected.

Transitive verb

verb

To become bright, glossy, and smooth; to brighten, to gleam, to shine forth.

Intransitive verb

noun

A shine of something which has been polished; a lustre, a polish.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A shiny layer applied to a surface or other thing.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

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.

Uncountable

verb

Of a person's body: to grow large or stout; to fatten, to fill out.

Example Sentences

"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."

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.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *bʰerH-, burnishen, burnir, *brūnijan, *brūnijaną, *brūnaz

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈbɝnɪʃ/
British English: /ˈbɜːnɪʃ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

burnishes (present, singular) burnishing (participle, present) burnished (participle, past) burnished (past) no-table-tags (table tags) glossary (inflection template) burnished (first person, past) burnisht (archaic, first person) burnishest (archaic, present) burnished (past, second person) burnishedst (archaic, past) burnisht (archaic, past)

Derived Forms

burnished burnisher burnishing burnishment reburnish

Synonyms

buff furbish rub polish gloss glossiness

Rhymes With

furnish bairnish

Questions

How do you pronounce burnish?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɝnɪʃ/.
What does burnish mean?: To make (something, such as a surface) bright, shiny, and smooth by, or (by extension) as if by, rubbing; to polish, to shine.
Where does burnish come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce burnish

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “burnish”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbɝnɪʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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