English → Latin
“polish” in Latin
expoliōto smooth, polish; to elaborate, embellishperpoliōto polish thoroughly; to put finishing touches toēlīmōto file (off); to polish; to cultivate, perfect, elaborate
The English word polish itself goes back to Latin poliō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
polish v.
PROP., delevigare; expolire: perpolire; cote despumare (marble, etc.). Figuratively, expolire: perpolire. To polish anybody’s manners, excolere alicujus mores; moribus ornare aliquem: to polish a work, expolire; elimare (Quint., but very rare; exasciare only in exasciatus in Plaut.).
polish s.
by the verbs, or by circumlocution with lima; e.g., his writings want polish, deest scriptis ejus ultima lima (Ov.); operi non accessit ultima lima (Cic.); so, also, oratio expolitione distincta (by its polish).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for polish?
- The usual Latin words for “polish” are expoliō, perpoliō, ēlīmō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.