Polish vs. Polish – Meaning & Difference

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Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

Polish with a capitalized P and polish with a lowercase p may look identical, but they have different pronunciations and meanings. Learn the difference between Polish and polish with sentence examples in my quick guide.

Polish vs. Polish

Polish has two different meanings, spellings, and pronunciations. The first one involves a capital P and is related to Poland. The other one has a lowercase p, which means to perfect or make shiny. This Ngram reveals that Polish is more commonly used.

Polish vs. polish Ngram
Polish and polish usage trend.

Polish Meaning and Definition

httpsgrammarist.comheteronymspolish vs polish

Polish with the capital P is a term used for someone who’s a citizen of Poland. We can also use this noun to refer to those whose ancestors are from Poland. Another definition of Polish is the language spoken in Poland.

Polish can also be an adjective. It refers to anything that is related, belonging, or pertaining to Poland, its people, culture, or language. It’s like the word American for America and French for France. For instance, we can say Polish food or Polish krakowska.

Pole was the word used to refer to someone from Poland.

Polish with a small p can be a noun or verb. As a noun, it’s a substance that you put on an object’s surface to clean, protect, or shine it.

As a verb, polish means to rub something with a cloth to make it shine. It also has a figurative meaning: to make something the best it can be. For instance, you can polish your performance or your report.

Polish comes from the word polire, which means to refine or smooth.

Polish Pronunciation

The pronunciation of Polish is poh-lish since its root word is Poland. Do not pronounce Polish with a capitalized P as paw-lish.

Using Polish in a Sentence

Here are some examples of Polish in a sentence.

  • My sister’s husband is Polish; he grew up in Poland.
  • I need to polish my car this summer to protect the finish.
  • The polish on her shoes was so shiny it could blind someone.
  • She carefully polished the silverware before setting the table.
  • The new car had a showroom polish that made it look brand new.
  • He spent hours polishing his guitar until it shone like a mirror.
  • The nail polish on her toes matched her dress perfectly.
  • He polished his resume to make it more appealing to potential employers.

Polish vs. Polish Summed Up

Let’s review the difference between Polish and polish.

  • Polish with a big P is pronounced as poh-lish.
  • Polish with a big P is related to Poland.
  • Polish with a small P is pronounced as paw-lish.
  • Polish with a small p means to shine or perfect.

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