different between polish vs gleam

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

• (noun) From Middle English gleme, from Old English glæm, from Proto-Germanic *glaimiz, from Proto-Indo-European *??ley-.
• (verb) Derived from the Middle English noun form before the first millennium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?li?m/
• Rhymes: -i?m

Noun

gleam (plural gleams)

1. A small or indistinct shaft or stream of light.

   Synonyms: beam, ray
2. (figuratively) A glimpse or hint; an indistinct sign of something.

   Synonyms: flicker, glimmer, trace

3. Brightness or shininess; splendor.

   Synonyms: dazzle, lambency, shine

Translations

Verb

gleam (third-person singular simple present gleams, present participle gleaming, simple past and past participle gleamed) (intransitive)

1. To shine; to glitter; to glisten.

   Synonyms: glint, sparkle, glow, shine

2. To be briefly but strongly apparent.

   Synonyms: flare, flash, kindle

3. (obsolete, falconry) To disgorge filth, as a hawk.

Translations

See also

• leam

References

• “gleam”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, ?ISBN
• “gleam” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "gleam" in On-line Medical Dictionary, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1997–2005.
• "gleam" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

Anagrams

• Gamel, megal-