The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
FURBISH
buff, burnish, furbish
(verb) polish and make shiny; “buff the wooden floors”; “buff my shoes”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
furbish (third-person singular simple present furbishes, present participle furbishing, simple past and past participle furbished)
To polish or burnish.
To renovate or recondition.
Synonyms
• (to make smooth and shiny by rubbing): wax, shine, polish, buff, burnish
Anagrams
• burfish
Source: Wiktionary
Fur"bish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Furbished; p. pr. & vb. n. Furbishing.] Etym: [OE. forbischen, OF. forbir, furbir, fourbir, F. fourbir, fr. OHG. furban to clean. See -ish.]
Definition: To rub or scour to brightness; to clean; to burnish; as, to furbish a sword or spear. Shak. Furbish new the name of John a Gaunt. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
15 April 2025
DOOMED
(adjective) marked by or promising bad fortune; “their business venture was doomed from the start”; “an ill-fated business venture”; “an ill-starred romance”; “the unlucky prisoner was again put in irons”- W.H.Prescott
Coffee Trivia
