Word of the Day

: January 24, 2010

refurbish

verb rih-FER-bish

What It Means

: to brighten or freshen up : renovate

refurbish in Context

Bill and Marie bought the historic house with the intent of refurbishing it.

Did You Know?

If you're wondering if "refurbish" implies the existence of an earlier "furbish," you are on the right track. "Furbish" was borrowed into English in the 14th century from Anglo-French "furbiss-," a distant relative of an Old High German word meaning "to polish." In its earliest uses "furbish" also meant "to polish," but it developed an extended sense of "renovate" shortly before English speakers created "refurbish" with the same meaning in the 17th century. These days "refurbish" is the more common of the two words, although "furbish" does continue to be used.