English Explanatory Dictionary

varnish

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A clear or translucent liquid coating composed of resin dissolved in a solvent, which dries by evaporation to form a hard, protective, and typically glossy finish.
  2. Anything resembling such a coating; a glossy appearance.
  3. A deceptively showy appearance.
  4. A passenger train, probably derived from the varnished passenger cars used at one time.
verb
  1. To apply varnish.
  2. To cover up with varnish.
  3. To make something superficially or deceptively attractive
  4. To gloss over a defect.

Pronunciation

/ˈvɑː(ɹ)nɪʃ/ en-us-varnish.ogg

Word forms

varnish varnishes vernish varnishing varnished

Etymology

From Middle English vernisch, vernish, from Old French vernis, from Medieval Latin vernix, veronix, from Byzantine Greek Βερενίκη (Bereníkē, “Berenice”), a town in Cyrenaica, now called Benghazi.

Derived words

desert varnish Japan varnish nail varnish rock varnish varnishless varnishlike varnish polish varnish tree varnishy revarnish varnishable varnisher varnishing day varnishment

Translations

Bulgarian: гланц Danish: fernis Danish: lak Finnish: lakka German: Firnis Hungarian: kence Slovak: lesk Venetan: vernize
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on V Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary