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Origin and history of burnish

burnish(v.)

early 14c., "polish by friction," from Old French burniss- present-participle stem of burnir, metathesis of brunir "to shine, gleam, sparkle" (trans.), also "polish, make sparkle, make bright, shine," from brun "brown; polished," from Frankish or some other Germanic source (compare Old High German brun, Old Norse brunn "bright, polished; brown"), from Proto-Germanic *brunaz (from PIE root *bher- (2) "bright; brown"). The connection to "brown" might be explained if the original objects in mind were wooden ones. The meaning "cause to glow, clean (something) until it shines" is from late 14c. Related: Burnished; burnishing.

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to burnish

brown(adj.)

Old English brun "dark, dusky," developing a definite color sense from 13c., from Proto-Germanic *brunaz (source also of Old Norse brunn, Danish brun, Old Frisian and Old High German brun, Dutch bruin, German braun), from PIE root *bher- (2) "bright; brown."

The Old English word also had a sense of "brightness, shining," preserved only in burnish. The Germanic word was adopted into Romanic (Middle Latin brunus, Italian and Spanish bruno, French brun).

Brown sugar is from 1704. Brown Bess, slang name for old British Army flintlock musket, is recorded by 1785. Brown study "state of mental abstraction or meditation" is from 1530s; OED says the notion is "gloomy." Brown-paper "kind of coarse, stout, unbleached paper used for wrapping" is from 1650s.

unburnished(adj.)

"unpolished," 1690s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of burnish (v.).

*bher-(2)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "bright; brown" (the sense connection might involve polished wooden objects).

It might form all or part of: Barnard; bear (n.) "large carnivorous or omnivorous mammal of the family Ursidae;" beaver (n.1) "large amphibious quadruped rodent of the genus Castor;" berserk; brown; Bruin; brunet; brunette; burnish.

It might also be the source of: Old English brun "dark, dusky;" Lithuanian bėras "brown;" Greek phrynos "toad," literally "the brown animal."

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    polish
    early 14c., polishen "make smooth or glossy" by friction or coating (of the surface of wood, stone, metal, etc.), from Old French poliss-, present participle stem of polir (12c.) "to polish, decorate, see to one's appearance," from Latin polire "to polish, make smooth; decorate,
    gloss
    "glistening smoothness, luster," 1530s, probably from Scandinavian (compare Icelandic glossi "a spark, a flame," related to glossa "to flame"), or obsolete Dutch gloos "a glowing," from Middle High German glos; probably ultimately from the same source as English glow (v.). Superf
    buff
    kind of thick, soft leather, 1570s, buffe leather "leather made of buffalo hide," from  French buffle "buffalo" (15c., via Italian, from Latin bufalus; see buffalo (n.)). The color term "light brownish-yellow" (by 1788) comes via the hue of buff leather. The old association
    limn
    to illuminate manuscripts" (late 14c.), from Old French luminer "light up, illuminate," from Latin luminare "illuminate, burnish...
    furbish
    (implied mid-13c. in the surname Furbisher), from Old French forbiss-, present-participle stem of forbir "to polish, burnish...
    radiance
    c. 1600, "brilliant light, brightness shooting in diverging rays or beams," from radiant (adj.) or else from Medieval Latin radiantia "brightness," from radiare "to beam, shine" (see radiation). Figurative use, of beauty, joy, etc., is by 1761. Related: Radiancy. Radiance ... is
    shine
    Middle English shinen, from Old English scinan "shed, send forth, or give out light; be radiant, be resplendent, illuminate," of persons, "be conspicuous" (class I strong verb; past tense scan, past participle scinen). This is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *skeinanan (s
    smooth
    "having a uniform surface, not rough," a Middle English form, from Old English smoð, a variant of smeðe "free from roughness, not harsh, polished; soft; suave; agreeable," which is of unknown origin and has no known cognates. The usual form in early Middle English was smeeth, but
    refulgence
    "state or character of shining brightly; a flood of light," 1630s, from Latin refulgentia "reflected luster, splendor," from refulgens, present participle of refulgere "flash back, shine brilliantly," from re- "back" (see re-) + fulgere "to shine" (from PIE *bhleg- "to shine, fla
    balance
    early 13c., "scales, apparatus for weighing by comparison of mass," from Old French balance "balance, scales for weighing" (12c.), also in figurative sense; from Medieval Latin bilancia, from Late Latin bilanx, from Latin (libra) bilanx "(scale) having two pans," possibly from La

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