Of, from or native to Poland, or relating to the Polish language.
Vinokur pulled the trigger a second and third time. "You're lying, you Polish cunt!" he screamed.2007, Elazar Barkan, Elizabeth A. Cole, Kai Struve, Shared History, Divided Memory, page 287:
As we mentioned the only chemical used in Polish meats or sausages was potassium nitrate even though the list of food additives allowed in Europe was long and impressive.2009, Stanley Marianski, Adam Marianski, Miroslaw Gebarowski, Polish Sausages: Authentic Recipes and Instructions, page 13:
2 more examples
“There’s a sense of betrayal,” said the former Hamtramck mayor Karen Majewski, who is Polish American.2023 June 17, Tom Perkins, “‘A sense of betrayal’: liberal dismay as Muslim-led US city bans Pride flags”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2023:
A far-right Polish MP has extinguished candles on a menorah lit for Hanukah in Poland’s parliament, disrupting proceedings before a planned vote of confidence in the new government.2023 December 12, Shaun Walker, “Far-right Polish MP uses fire extinguisher to put out Hanukah candles”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 15 Jun 2025:
Etymology From Middle English polishen, from Old French poliss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of polir, from Latin polīre (“to polish, make smooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- (“to drive, strike, thrust”), from the notion of fulling cloth.
1
A substance used to polish.
A good silver polish will remove tarnish easily.
2
Cleanliness; smoothness, shininess.
The floor was waxed to a high polish.
3
Refinement; cleanliness in performance or presentation.
The lecturer showed a lot of polish at his last talk.
Etymology From Middle English polishen, from Old French poliss-, stem of some of the conjugated forms of polir, from Latin polīre (“to polish, make smooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- (“to drive, strike, thrust”), from the notion of fulling cloth.
1
To shine; to make a surface very smooth or shiny by rubbing, cleaning, or grinding.
He polished up the chrome until it gleamed.
2
To refine; remove imperfections from.
The band has polished its performance since the last concert.
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.1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversations:
3
To apply shoe polish to shoes.
4
To become smooth, as from friction; to receive a gloss; to take a smooth and glossy surface.
Steel polishes well.
The other [gold], whether it will polish so well Wherein for the latter [brass] it is probable it willa. 1626, Francis Bacon, Inquisitions touching the compounding of metals:
5
To refine; to wear off the rudeness, coarseness, or rusticity of; to make elegant and polite.
Arts that polish Life.1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
Educated at private schools and polished at Cambridge1971, Herb Spiers, “Maurice (review)”, in Body Politic, number 1, page 12:
The big advantage of learning Russian is that, once you’re proficient, you can understand other Slav languages such as Czech, Polish or Bulgarian.2021 April 25, John Malathronas, “Which languages are easiest – and most difficult – for native English speakers to learn?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2022:
2
A breed of chickens with a large crest of feathers.
Derived terms
Polglish, Ponglish
Related terms
Middle Polish, Old Polish, Pole, Wikibooks:Polish language course, Wiktionary’s coverage of Polish terms