different between polish vs background

English

Etymology

From Middle English polishen, from Old French poliss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of polir, from Latin pol?re (“to polish, make smooth”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: p?'l?sh, IPA^(key): /?p?l??/
• (US) enPR: pä'l?sh, IPA^(key): /?p?l??/

Noun

polish (countable and uncountable, plural polishes)

1. A substance used to polish.

2. Cleanliness; smoothness, shininess.

3. Refinement; cleanliness in performance or presentation.

Synonyms

• (substance): wax
• (smoothness, shininess): finish, sheen, shine, shininess, smoothness
• (cleanliness in performance or presentation): class, elegance, panache, refinement, style

Derived terms

• depolish
• expolish
• repolish

Related terms

• polissoir

Translations

See also

• apple-polish
• French polish
• furniture polish
• glacial polish
• nail polish
• polish remover
• shoe polish
• spit and polish
• stove polish
• varnish polish

Verb

polish (third-person singular simple present polishes, present participle polishing, simple past and past participle polished)

1. (transitive) To shine; to make a surface very smooth or shiny by rubbing, cleaning, or grinding.

3. (transitive) To refine; remove imperfections from.
   • 1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversations

     Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.

4. (transitive) To apply shoe polish to shoes.
5. (intransitive) To become smooth, as from friction; to receive a gloss; to take a smooth and glossy surface.
   • a. 1626, Francis Bacon, Inquisitions touching the compounding of metals

     The other [gold], whether it will polish so well Wherein for the latter [brass] it is probable it will

6. (transitive) To refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or rusticity of; to make elegant and polite.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (to make smooth and shiny by rubbing): wax, shine, buff, furbish, burnish, smooth, bone
• (refine): hone, perfect, refine

Derived terms

• polishable
• polished
• polisher
• polishing
• polishment
• polishure
• repolish
• unpolish

Related terms

• polite

Translations

See also

• interpolish
• polish off
• polish up, polish up on

Further reading

• polish in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• polish in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• polish at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Hislop, philos

English

Etymology

back +? ground

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bæk.??a?nd/

Adjective

background (not comparable)

1. Less important or less noticeable in a scene or system.

Antonyms

• conspicuous, foreground, forestanding, primary, prominent

Noun

background (countable and uncountable, plural backgrounds)

1. One's social heritage, or previous life; what one did in the past.

2. A part of the picture that depicts scenery to the rear or behind the main subject; context.
3. Information relevant to the current situation about past events; history.
4. A less important feature of scenery (as opposed to foreground).

5. (computing) The image or color over which a computer's desktop items are shown (e.g. icons or application windows).
6. (computing) A type of activity on a computer that is not normally visible to the user.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

background (third-person singular simple present backgrounds, present participle backgrounding, simple past and past participle backgrounded)

1. To put in a position that is not prominent.
   • 2006, Paul Baker, Using Corpora in Discourse Analysis, page 163:

     One aspect of the story that appears interesting is that the alleged rapist and victim are only referred to by name together in the same sentence once. In all the other sentences, one receives more focus, while the other is backgrounded.

2. (journalism) To gather and provide background information (on).

Spanish

Noun

background m (plural backgrounds)

1. background