Word of the Day: REFURBISH
To revamp, refit, or renew
refurbish (verb) - to renovate, redecorate, or freshen up [ree-fur-bish]
BREAKDOWN: RE- (again) + FURB- (to polish) + -ISH (act of)
refurbishment is the process or result of renewal or restoration
“If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.” —Pete Seeger
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The FURB- root hiding in there is the real gem. It traces back to Old French "fourbir" — to polish or burnish, originally used for making swords and armor gleam. So when you "refurbish" something, you're literally re-polishing it, bringing back that original shine.
Funny how we've stretched a word about buffing metal into fixing up apartments and restoring old furniture. The core meaning — making something look new again through careful work — stayed intact even as the materials changed.