Meaning of "furbish" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD FURBISH

From Old French fourbir to polish, of Germanic origin.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF FURBISH

furbish  [ˈfɜːbɪʃ]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF FURBISH

Furbish is a verb.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb furbish in English.

WHAT DOES FURBISH MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Furby

A Furby is an electronic robotic toy resembling a hamster or owl-like creature which went through a period of being a "must-have" toy following its launch in the holiday season of 1998, with continual sales until 2000. Over 40 million Furbies were sold during the three years of its original production, with 1.8 million sold in 1998, and 14 million in 1999. Its speaking capabilities were translated into 24 languages. Furbies were the first successful attempt to produce and sell a domestically-aimed robot. A newly purchased Furby starts out speaking entirely Furbish, the unique language that all Furbies use, but is programmed to start using English words and phrases in place of Furbish over time. This process is intended to resemble the process of learning English. In 2005, new Furbies were released, with voice-recognition and more complex facial movements, and many other changes and improvements. The Emoto-Tronic Furbies continued to be sold until late 2007, when these toys became extremely rare. An updated Furby is being sold as of September 2012 for the holiday season.

Definition of furbish in the English dictionary

The definition of furbish in the dictionary is to make bright by polishing; burnish. Other definition of furbish is to improve the appearance or condition of; renovate; restore.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO FURBISH

PRESENT

Present

I furbish

you furbish

he/she/it furbishes

we furbish

you furbish

they furbish

Present continuous

I am furbishing

you are furbishing

he/she/it is furbishing

we are furbishing

you are furbishing

they are furbishing

Present perfect

I have furbished

you have furbished

he/she/it has furbished

we have furbished

you have furbished

they have furbished

Present perfect continuous

I have been furbishing

you have been furbishing

he/she/it has been furbishing

we have been furbishing

you have been furbishing

they have been furbishing

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I furbished

you furbished

he/she/it furbished

we furbished

you furbished

they furbished

Past continuous

I was furbishing

you were furbishing

he/she/it was furbishing

we were furbishing

you were furbishing

they were furbishing

Past perfect

I had furbished

you had furbished

he/she/it had furbished

we had furbished

you had furbished

they had furbished

Past perfect continuous

I had been furbishing

you had been furbishing

he/she/it had been furbishing

we had been furbishing

you had been furbishing

they had been furbishing

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will furbish

you will furbish

he/she/it will furbish

we will furbish

you will furbish

they will furbish

Future continuous

I will be furbishing

you will be furbishing

he/she/it will be furbishing

we will be furbishing

you will be furbishing

they will be furbishing

Future perfect

I will have furbished

you will have furbished

he/she/it will have furbished

we will have furbished

you will have furbished

they will have furbished

Future perfect continuous

I will have been furbishing

you will have been furbishing

he/she/it will have been furbishing

we will have been furbishing

you will have been furbishing

they will have been furbishing

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would furbish

you would furbish

he/she/it would furbish

we would furbish

you would furbish

they would furbish

Conditional continuous

I would be furbishing

you would be furbishing

he/she/it would be furbishing

we would be furbishing

you would be furbishing

they would be furbishing

Conditional perfect

I would have furbish

you would have furbish

he/she/it would have furbish

we would have furbish

you would have furbish

they would have furbish

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been furbishing

you would have been furbishing

he/she/it would have been furbishing

we would have been furbishing

you would have been furbishing

they would have been furbishing

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you furbish
we let´s furbish
you furbish

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to furbish

Past participle

furbished

Present Participle

furbishing

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «FURBISH»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «furbish» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of furbish

brighten · burnish · gussy up · polish · renovate · restore · rub · shine · spruce up

TRANSLATION OF FURBISH

Find out the translation of furbish to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of furbish from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «furbish» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 重温
• Translator English - Spanish: furbish
• English: furbish
• Translator English - Hindi: चमक लाना
• Translator English - Arabic: furbish
• Translator English - Russian: точите
• Translator English - Portuguese: limpai
• Translator English - Bengali: বার্নিশ করা
• Translator English - French: Furbish
• Translator English - Malay: Furbish
• Translator English - German: furbish
• Translator English - Japanese: furbish
• Translator English - Korean: furbish
• Translator English - Javanese: Furbish
• Translator English - Vietnamese: chùi
• Translator English - Tamil: புனருத்தாரணம்
• Translator English - Marathi: फर्नशिप
• Translator English - Turkish: cilalamak
• Translator English - Italian: furbish
• Translator English - Polish: furbish
• Translator English - Ukrainian: точите
• Translator English - Romanian: șlefui
• Translator English - Greek: λουστράρω
• Translator English - Afrikaans: blink
• Translator English - Swedish: furbish
• Translator English - Norwegian: furbish

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «FURBISH»

Discover the use of furbish in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to furbish and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Kate Furbish and the Flora of Maine

Working with old letters and documents, and with Furbish's work itself, Ada Graham and Frank Graham, Jr. have been able to piece together the engaging story of Kate Furbish's life.

Ada Graham, 1995

Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary

born in Exeter, N.H., the eldest of six children and only daughter of Benjamin Furbish, a native of Wells, Maine, and his wife, Mary A. Lane of Exeter. When Kate was about a year old her parents moved to Brunswick, Maine, where her father, ...

Edward T. James, Janet Wilson James, Paul S. Boyer, 1971

Maine Biographies: Excerpted from Maine Resources, ...

H. A. Furbish Company. Mr. Furbish is treasurer of the association of two organizations in the manufacture of lumber; they are the Kempton Lumber Company of Rangeley, and the Stratton Manufacturing Company, of Eustis, Maine.

Harrie B. Coe, 2003

The Wentworth Genealogy: English and American

J ohn" Furbish, born 6 February 1827, died 23 July 1850. 6. Daniel? Furbish, born 24 March 1829; married in 1854, Eunice J ., daughter of Hiram Tibbetts ( whose second wife, married in February 1854, was Lydia" (3645) Wentwort-h), by his ...

John Wentworth

Property: Nelson Stoebuck & Whitman

Benham. v. Morton. &. Furbish. Agency. Renters. (P). v. Rental. agency. (D). Me. Sup. Jud. Ct., 929 A.2d 471 (2007). Property David Properties, Inc. v. Selk Tenant (D) v. Landlord. Property ...

Casenotes, Casenote Legal Briefs, 2009

The Nature Fakers: Wildlife, Science & Sentiment

of Furbish's experience reveals a good deal about Long's abilities as a naturalist. 29 Mauran Furbish and William J. Long had been good friends and neighbors, often taking Sunday dinner together. Nevertheless, Furbish did not consider Long  ...

Ralph H. Lutts, 2001

The Wentworth Genealogy

Betsey“ Furbish, born in 1827, died 23 February 1868. 2. John“ Furbish, born in 1829 ; married, in 1851, Amanda Willey. 3. Mark W.“ Furbish, born in 1831; married, in 1851, Lucinda Reeves, and died in 1868. 4. Henrietta“ Furbish, born in ...

J. Wentworth

Reagan's Path to Victory: The Shaping of Ronald Reagan's ...

They were a particular kind of weed — a sort of wild snapdragon known as the Furbish Lousewort. The Furbish Lousewort is on the endangered species list. and those Furthermore some supposedly knowledgeable people said those were the ...

Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson, Martin Anderson, 2004

Any Day

So it is not one day too soon for us to contemplate Miss Furbish's lousewort and what it means to this nation and how we must order ourselves in the struggle. Miss Furbish's lousewort, as everyone will soon become aware, is a rare plant facing ...

Henry Mitchell, 1997

Dictionnary of the English Language with Numerous ...

Addison. To FUTIBISH. v. a. Ifourbir, Fr.] To burnish ; to polish ; to rub to brightness. It may enter Mowbray's waxen coat, And furbish new the name of John o' Gaunt. Shakspeare, Rich. II. Furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines- Jer. xlvi.

Samuel Johnson, 1827

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «FURBISH»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term furbish is used in the context of the following news items.

Amazing days merit entertaining nights

Woofers boom, shifting from classic rock to more house-like club action. Beer-as-art design schemes and chalkboard walls furbish the space. «Monterey County Weekly, Jul 15»

Small traders' big day

... who opened a business on the Crescent in Midland stocking Annie Sloan paints and brushes, which are used to re-furbish vintage furniture. «Community Newspaper Group, Jul 15»

Connecting through art

She has taken the initiative to furbish Government schools, by painting the outside and inside the classrooms, besides working with a French ... «The Hindu, Jul 15»

USA embassy in Cuba: Obama taking 'wrong approach,' Byrne says

Monies to re-furbish or build a new embassy in Havana still must be approved by Congress. It was only last month that the Republlican-led ... «Rapid News Network, Jul 15»

Construction of New Ljubljana Emergency to Continue

Among other things, Kolektor Koling will furbish the first floor of the emergency wing and move internist emergency services into it. The works ... «STA - Slovenska Tiskovna Agencija, Jul 15»

President Obama Announces Plans for Re-opening of Embassy in …

The opening of a Cuban Embassy still must overcome obstacles in Congress. Monies to re-furbish or build a new embassy in Havana still must ... «Alaska Native News, Jul 15»

Vienna's Most Jewish Street

... into the Gestapo headquarters after it was Aryanized: I had no idea that the inventory of the hotel was used to furbish the Lebensborn homes, ... «Forward, Jun 15»

About 50 graduate from St. Lawrence Central

... John M. Cherniak, Alissa Cobane, Jessica R. Cobane, Anthony T. Deshane, Joseph DiMatteo, Jacob D. Franklin, Gabrielle Moriah Furbish, ... «North Country Now, Jun 15»

SouthCoast Property Transfers

Paula C. Lino to Ronald C. Furbish and Aida Peciokiene. 320 Oliver St $193,000. Luis A. and Maria R. Machado to Alfredo A. and Maria F. «SouthCoastToday.com, Jun 15»

Professor Hanington's Speaking of Science: What About Seawater …

It will now cost over $40 million to re-furbish it again. Once that is done the facility is expected to produce as much as 30 percent of the city's ... «Elko Daily Free Press, Jun 15»