burnish

[bur-nish]

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verb (used with object)

to polish (a surface) by friction.
to make smooth and bright.
Engraving. to flatten and enlarge the dots of (a halftone) by rubbing with a tool.

noun

gloss; brightness; luster: the burnish of brass andirons.

Origin of burnish

1275–1325; Middle English burnissh < Anglo-French burniss-, Middle French bruniss- (long stem of burnir, brunir to darken, polish), equivalent to brun- brown + -iss- -ish²

Related formsbur·nish·a·ble, adjectivebur·nish·ment, nounun·bur·nished, adjective

Synonyms for burnish

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1. buff, shine.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for burnished

shine, rub, glaze, furbish, gloss, smooth, wax, glance, luster, sheen, buff, patina

Examples from the Web for burnished

Contemporary Examples of burnished

As a kid, you'd admired pictures of knights in burnished suits of armor.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq
Nathan Bradley Bethea
August 31, 2014
We can never know how much of this was innate in him, or how much of was shaped and burnished in a dark, solitary cell.
Full Text of President Obama's Eulogy for Nelson Mandela
The Daily Beast
December 10, 2013
There was a once-grand dining room with mirrored walls and burnished chandeliers.
Welcome to Woolwich, Where English Terrorists Say Sorry While They Murder
Peter Pomerantsev
May 23, 2013
But if Reagan burnished the anti-intellectual brand, Bush has now wrecked it.
Revenge of the Nerds
Peter Beinart
December 8, 2008

Historical Examples of burnished

The floor was scrubbed to whiteness, the very stove was burnished.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
The reins were of silk, and the chariot shone with burnished gold.
Imogen
William Godwin
The moonlight caught her grey hair and burnished it to an aureole of silver.
Jan and Her Job
L. Allen Harker
From behind the hills peeped the edge of the moon—a sickle of burnished copper.
The Sea-Hawk
Raphael Sabatini
Her hair streaming on her shoulders glinted like burnished gold.
Tales of Unrest
Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for burnished

burnish

verb

to make or become shiny or smooth by friction; polish

noun

a shiny finish; lustre

Derived Formsburnishable, adjectiveburnisher, noun

Word Origin for burnish

C14 burnischen, from Old French brunir to make brown, from brun brown

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for burnished

burnish

early 14c., from Old French burniss- present participle stem of burnir, metathesis of brunir "to shine, gleam, sparkle" (trans.), "to polish, make sparkle, make bright, shine," from brun "brown; polished," from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German brun, Old Norse brunn "bright, polished; brown;" see brown (adj.)). The connection to "brown" might be explained if the original objects in mind were wooden ones. Related: Burnished; burnishing.