veneer
/vəˈnɪɹ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.13 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A thin decorative covering of fine material (usually wood) applied to coarser wood or other material.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
An attractive appearance that covers or disguises one's true nature or feelings, the veneer of culture.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Compartment and corridor partitions are of blockboard, with appropriate decorative veneers to suit the varied interior decoration."
- "A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away,[…]."
- "“Yalda,” Dabashi says, “has managed to survive the centuries because it has been gently recodified with a Muslim veneer.”"
- "to veneer a piece of furniture with mahogany"
- "The stateroom walls are veneered with finely figured English chestnut with the skirting and mouldings in English walnut."
- "[O]ne / Discuss'd his tutor, rough to common men / But honeying at the whisper of a lord; / And one the Master, as a rogue in grain / Veneer'd with sanctimonious theory."
Etymology
From German Furnier, from furnieren (“to inlay, cover with a veneer”), from French fournir (“to furnish, accomplish”), from Middle French fornir, from Old French fornir, furnir (“to furnish”), from Old Frankish frumjan (“to provide”), from Proto-Germanic *frumjaną (“to further, promote”). Cognate with Old High German frumjan, frummen (“to accomplish, execute, provide”), Old English fremian (“to promote, perform”). More at furnish.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Furnier, fournir, fornir, *frumjaną
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /vəˈnɪɹ/
- British English: /vəˈnɪə(ɹ)/