means The act of rubbing a surface smooth and glossy, or by extension refining something to its final, finished form.

from From the verb 'polish,' which came into English through Old French 'poliss-,' the stem of 'polir,' itself descended from Latin 'polire,' meaning to smooth, refine, or make even. The '-ing' is the ordinary English suffix turning the verb into the act of doing it. The same Latin root quietly underlies 'polite' — a person 'polished' into smoothness of manner, the rough edges worn away by social friction rather than cloth and grit.