Polishing

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Polish \Pol"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Polished}; p. pr. & vb.
     n. {Polishing}.] [F. polir, L. polire. Cf. {Polite}, {-ish}]
     1. To make smooth and glossy, usually by friction; to
        burnish; to overspread with luster; as, to polish glass,
        marble, metals, etc.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. Hence, to refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or
        rusticity of; to make elegant and polite; as, to polish
        life or manners. --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {To polish off}, to finish completely, as an adversary.
        [Slang] --W. H. Russell.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Polishing \Pol"ish*ing\,
     a. & n. from {Polish}.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Polishing iron}, an iron burnisher; esp., a small smoothing
        iron used in laundries.
  
     {Polishing slate}.
     (a) A gray or yellow slate, found in Bohemia and Auvergne,
         and used for polishing glass, marble, and metals.
     (b) A kind of hone or whetstone; hone slate.
  
     {Polishing snake}, a tool used in cleaning lithographic
        stones.
  
     {Polishing wheel}, a wheel or disk coated with, or composed
        of, abrading material, for polishing a surface.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  polishing
       n : the work of making something shine by polishing it; "the
           shining of shoes provided a meager living" [syn: {shining}]