1.
polishing; giving a shine; adding gloss
The action or product of making a surface shiny and glossy — applied to furniture, cars, shoes, floors, nails, and also to food finishes in cooking. Refers both to the process (polishing) and to the substance used to achieve it (polish).
Derived from 艶 ('gloss; luster; sheen') + the 連用形 of 出す ('to bring out'), so literally 'bringing out the shine'. A productive compound-forming pattern: the noun refers both to the act of polishing and to the polishing agent itself.
Usage
- As a する-compatible noun: 艶出しをする ('to polish').
- Frequently used attributively: 艶出しワックス ('polishing wax'), 艶出しクリーム ('polishing cream'), 艶出し剤 ('polishing agent').
- In cooking, refers to glazing food (e.g., brushing egg yolk on bread or pastry, coating soy-sauce sweets) to give it a shine.
- The opposite finish is 艶消し ('matte; anti-glare').
Common collocations
- 艶出しをする: to polish; to give a shine
- 艶出しワックス: polishing wax
- 艶出しクリーム: polishing cream
- 艶出し剤: polishing agent
- 家具の艶出し: furniture polishing
Similar words
- 艶消し: matte; dulling the shine — the opposite process and finish.
- 磨く: to polish; to scrub — the verb for rubbing to make something clean or shiny; broader.
- ワックス: wax — a loanword covering the products themselves (floor wax, car wax).
- 研磨: abrasive polishing; grinding — industrial or technical polishing by abrasion.