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furnishing

[fur-ni-shing]
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noun
  1. furnishings,
    1. furniture, carpeting, etc., for a house or room.
    2. articles or accessories of dress: men's furnishings.
  2. that with which anything is furnished.
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Origin of furnishing

First recorded in 1490–1500; furnish + -ing1

furnish

[fur-nish]
verb (used with object)
  1. to supply (a house, room, etc.) with necessary furniture, carpets, appliances, etc.
  2. to provide or supply (often followed by with): The delay furnished me with the time I needed.
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noun
  1. paper pulp and any ingredients added to it prior to its introduction into a papermaking machine.
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Origin of furnish

1400–50; late Middle English furnisshen < Old French furniss-, long stem of furnir to accomplish, furnish < Germanic; compare Old High German frumjan to provide
Related formsfur·nish·er, nounhalf-fur·nished, adjectiveo·ver·fur·nish, verb (used with object)pre·fur·nish, verb (used with object)re·fur·nish, verb (used with object)self-fur·nished, adjectivesem·i·fur·nished, adjectiveun·der·fur·nish, verb (used with object)un·fur·nished, adjectivewell-fur·nished, adjective
Can be confusedrefinish refurbish refurnish

Synonyms

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1, 2. rig, outfit, deck out. Furnish, appoint, equip all refer to providing something necessary. Furnish emphasizes the idea of providing necessary or customary services or appliances in living quarters: to furnish board; a room meagerly furnished with a bed, desk, and a wooden chair. Appoint (now found only in well-appointed ) means to furnish completely with all requisites or accessories or in an elegant style: a well-appointed house. Equip means to supply with necessary materials or apparatus for some service, action, or undertaking; it emphasizes preparation: to equip a vessel, a soldier.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

accoutermentchattelappointmentgearfixtureapplianceaccessoryequipmentfittingprovisionfurnituretrappingaccoutrementdecor

Examples from the Web for furnishing

Historical Examples

  • He began to make tentative suggestions as to their furnishing.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • He had great hopes of furnishing equable weather to all the Earth.

    Slaves of Mercury

    Nat Schachner

  • The furnishing of the house was a most important undertaking.

  • It was only when I went to my bedroom that I realised the oversights which I had made in my furnishing.

  • As yet, we have seen no arrangement for furnishing air to the chick.

    The Meaning of Evolution

    Samuel Christian Schmucker

British Dictionary definitions for furnishing

furnish

verb (tr)
  1. to provide (a house, room, etc) with furniture, carpets, etc
  2. to equip with what is necessary; fit out
  3. to give; supplythe records furnished the information required
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Derived Formsfurnisher, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Old French fournir, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German frummen to carry out
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 furnishing

furnish

v.

mid-15c., from Middle French furniss-, present participle stem of furnir "furnish, accomplish," from Old French fornir (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *fornire, alteration of *fromire, from West Germanic *frumjan "forward movement, advancement" (cf. Old High German frumjan "to do, execute, provide"), from Proto-Germanic *fram- "forwards" (see from). Meaning "to provide" (something) is from 1520s. Related: Furnished; furnishing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper